The Dark Ring
by Dave
Summary: The Empire uses brains and brawn to threaten the New Republic’s stability.
1. Part 1

The Dark Ring

by David Pontier

[dpontier@hotmail.com][1]

[Homepage][2]

Pellaeon stared at him. "Are you suggesting we clone him?"

"Why not?" Thrawn asked. "Not at Mount Tantiss itself, certainly, given the conditions there. Most likely not at the speed which that facility allows, either - that's all well and good for techs and TIE fighter pilots, but not a project of this delicacy. No, I envision bringing such a clone to childhood and then allowing it to grow to maturity at a normal pace for its last ten or fifteen years. Under suitable upbringing conditions, of course."

"I see," Pellaeon said. "Where would you set up this other cloning facility?"

"Somewhere absolutely secure," Thrawn said. "Possibly on one of the worlds in the Unknown Regions where I once served the Emperor. You'll instruct Intelligence to begin searching for a suitable location after we've crushed the Rebels at Bilbringi."

--Timothy Zahn, "The Last Command"

****

Chapter 1 "Dawn"

Captain Tallon walked down the spotless, white-walled corridor. His military-style boots made a loud, echoing clomp as he moved his muscular frame toward the end of the long hallway. The hallway was empty. There were very few people who knew about this hallway - two to be exact.

In fact there were not too many people who knew of this planet. Located deep in the core systems, Hastrin was a medium size planet covered with blue oceans and rolling plains. Several rich forests dotted the landscape, and mountains rose majestically from the surface. Tallon was in one of the mountains now.

As Tallon reached the end of the hallway he smiled broadly. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He stood straight and tall as he faced the door at the end of the hall. His voice was full of pride as he spoke his name and rank into the speaker. As the computer confirmed his voice pattern he didn't even notice the two blast cannons mounted on the wall, waiting to vaporize anyone who the computer didn't recognize. After a confirmation beep from the lock system, he bent down and allowed his retina to be scanned. Patiently he waited for the second confirmation beep. When it came, a small panel opened underneath the retina scanner, revealing a crosshatched screen. Tallon placed his hand on the screen and watched as a scanning laser went back and forth, up and down, and finally beeped in confirmation.

The door slid open and revealed a second transparent door. Tallon waited as the two red-dressed royal Imperial guards confirmed his identity. Tallon could hear the laser cannons power down as one of the guards pressed an unseen button, opening the last door. The sterile air inside the room was comforting in comparison to the stuffy air of the hallway. Tallon inhaled deeply as he stepped into the room. The guards parted and resumed their posts, one at either side of the door. The two doors slide closed behind Tallon, and he walked into the middle of the room.

The room, like the entire underground secret section, was totally immaculate. The walls were of such a clean white and the room so softly lit that the angles between the walls and the three-meter ceilings were hard to discern. The computer consoles that covered two of the walls in the five-sided room were so spotless that they made someone hesitant to use them. The man using the computers now, however, was not in the least way hesitant. His fingers were alive with action as he moved from screen to screen, checking and double-checking readouts and figures. The only imperfections in the room were tiny scratches in the floor from the computer operator's chair as he rolled from console to console. Tallon frowned at these scratches. Who ever was responsible for choosing this chair would pay for their lack of concern to small details. The ones who ignored the small details were usually responsible for the little problems. And everyone knew that it's the little problems that cause the big problems. When Tallon was a young officer he saw that his superiors would always try to solve the big problems by attacking the people associated with the problem instead of tracking it down to the source. The person responsible for a faulty engine was rarely the engineer who built it. It was more likely that the janitor who was in charge of cleaning the engine room played a bigger part in the faulty engine than anyone else. Now that Tallon was the superior officer, he always made sure that the big problems were solved before they happened.

Tallon walked over to the room's other occupant, who had stopped his frantic motions and had settled behind one of the main screens. A smaller, weaker man might be intimidated by the cleanliness and quietness of the room and therefore make his steps as quiet as possible as to not disturb the perfection of the room. Tallon was not such a man. Although he was obsessed with cleanliness and perfection, he didn't let it impose on his style. He was proud of his almost two-meter tall frame; he was proud of his rank; and he wasn't going to let that pride ever be over shadowed by anything else. The other man heard Tallon's boots clomping in the room and turned to face him, as if to recognize his presence for the first time. "How are events progressing, doctor?"

The doctor didn't hesitate in his response. "Things are going smoothly. We should be ready to start the revival process in a few moments." Tallon nodded in confirmation and approval. The doctor exhaled the breath that he wasn't even aware he had been holding and returned his gaze to the screen he was working at. Things were not going smoothly, and he had to work like crazy to be ready in a few minutes. But if the doctor had learned one thing, it was that Tallon enjoyed good news and was enraged by bad news. Although Tallon rarely killed anyone for failure, punishment was still not preferred. Tallon held the idea that if a man made a mistake, killing him wouldn't solve the mistake and would teach the man nothing. Often the only person that understood what went wrong was the person who was responsible for the problem. Since he was the only person who knew what went wrong, he would be the best person to be put in charge to make sure it never happened again. Killing him would only encourage the same mistake from others. The doctor didn't intend on making any mistakes.

Tallon watched as the doctor read the confusing computer read-outs. Tallon was getting impatient. He chided himself inwardly for his poor behavior. It was tough to remain calm, however. He had been waiting for this moment for several years now, and he felt a little perturbed that he still had to wait some more; as if the event would never come, and he would only get closer and closer.

Tallon thought back to when he had been assigned this post. He had been young and only a lieutenant. Admiral Pellaeon had approached him and had given him orders.

***

"Lieutenant Tallon," Pellaeon said.

"Yes sir," Tallon responded.

"I've looked over your file and your service to the Empire has been admirable."

"Thank-you, sir."

"These next few years will be hard for the Empire. The Rebellion has grown in strength, and the remnants of the Empire are scattered, yet strong. We need to become unified and keep that strength to make sure the Empire has a future. You will play a big part in that future."

Tallon was taken aback slightly but tried not to let it show. He knew he was due for a promotion, and he didn't want to show the unprofessional excitement that he saw in other young officers. Pellaeon was carrying a small briefcase. He handed it to Tallon. "In here are instructions for your next assignment." Tallon took the briefcase. "You are hereby promoted to Captain. Congratulations."

***

Tallon smiled to himself as he looked at the doctor. It had been hard for him to control his excitement then. He had been promoted well past the lieutenant commander he thought he was going to get. The post was out in the distant core worlds. Tallon was the highest-ranking officer for many light-years in every direction. The briefcase had contained coordinates to his new post, information about this secret Empire outpost, and there was a flask that contained a thick, darkish-purple fluid. The instructions had been very clear: maintain the Imperial base until you receive further instructions. He had maintained the base to the best of his ability, which was to say that the base and all of its facilities were more efficient than they had ever been before.

"We are ready," the doctor stood from his chair and walked over to a wall that was covered with wires and pipes. He pressed a few buttons, pulled a few levers, and a small hole opened in the floor. A tall glass cylinder rose up through the hole. Gasses hissed and motors hummed as the cylinder came to a stop. Tallon tried to pear through the glass to catch a glimpse of what he knew to be in there. The glass was fogged up by the gas and the only thing Tallon could see was a small row of electric lights that flashed on and off as they monitored the contents of the cylinder. After the doctor operated a few more controls, the door to the cylinder opened with a hiss of released oxygen. A small cloud enveloped the cylinder, but Tallon could sense movement from inside the tube.

A man emerged from the fog. He was medium height with a solid build. His skin was a slight bluish color that gave him an eerie, alien-like appearance. He was naked.

Tallon took a step forward and saluted. "Greetings, Grand Admiral Thrawn. I am Captain Tallon, and this is Dr. Kendel. I will try to bring you up to speed."

Thrawn returned the salute. His posture was perfect, showing no sign that he was uncomfortable with his present clotheless condition. Tallon, despite his immense physical stature, didn't think he would be able to be so professional in such a situation. "I will get you a uniform immediately."

"That won't be necessary yet. Simple clothes will be fine. I don't plan to steal command from you just yet. You have been in command for almost twenty-two years, and you can remain in command for a while till I become familiar with this outpost."

"Yes, sir."

"The good doctor has informed me as to our current situation while I was in the cloning cylinder, so only a short briefing on current events will be necessary. We achieve little standing here. Can we move to a room where I can become more aquatinted with the station?"

"Certainly. If you will follow me . . ." Tallon led the way back into the hallway, and the two walked side by side up the long corridor, Thrawn a head shorter. Tallon was still a little ill at ease with the Grand Admiral's condition, but tried not to show it. Whether or not Thrawn noticed it, he made no mention toward the topic.

Conversation was non-existent. Tallon was a man of action and words served him little purpose. He assumed Thrawn was the same way, and he didn't want to pursue anything except at the will of Thrawn. The hallway seemed shorter on the way back. When they reached the door at the opposite end of the hallway, Thrawn glanced back toward the lab. "Will the good doctor be attending our meeting?"

"He usually stays cooped up down there, sir. But if you wish, I shall call him up to the meeting room."

Thrawn shook his head, "Let him finish what he needs to. There are just a few things I wish to discuss with him."

After Tallon found clothes for Thrawn, the two of them proceeded to Tallon's private council room. "I understand that the New Republic has the upper hand now," Thrawn started the conversation. "Maybe it's time that Hastrin joined the New Republic."

Tallon was confused. "I don't think I understand you sir."

Thrawn explained.

***

Light of early dawn crept along the tree line, threatening to bathe the jungle floor in warm solar radiation. The sun moved higher in the sky as the small moon rotated on its axis. The fourth moon of the great gas giant Yavin eventually rotated far enough to allow the sun of the small system a better angle as to penetrate through the thick trees. Even with the sun shining directly into the top of the trees, it was able to find only a few cracks in the thick foliage where it could penetrate through to the forest floor.

As the line of light moved along the tops of the trees, it came across a large clearing where it could bathe an entire area in its life giving light. Little known to the sun, the life forms in that clearing were already filled with an incredible amount of life force. A force that an inanimate object like a star couldn't possibly understand. Yet at the same time, a life force that an immense ball of burning fuel couldn't help but give off.

"Let the Force flow through you. Allow the light to penetrate your bodies and fill you with strength. Don't see it as light, but view it as life."

The light had momentarily blinded Jaina. She had been ready for it because she knew how strong the sun could be on the jungle moon, especially in the morning, but she still couldn't help but squint as the radiation filled her brown eyes, shrinking her pupils to the size of pin holes. She listened to Master Skywalker and instead of closing her eyes, she opened them to the sun and tried to look past the light. As she did, her eyes seemed to absorb the light, sucking it in like a sponge. The glare disappeared and was replaced by a soft warm glow that slowly spread throughout her whole body. It wasn't the same kind of external warmth that she felt when she would occasionally sun bathe, but it was an internal warmth that made her feel full of life.

As the light of the sun gradually got softer and her eyes were able to view her surroundings clearly again, she saw her two brothers standing ten meters apart in the middle of the clearing with the rest of the students at the Jedi Academy surrounding them. Her twin brother Jacen turned his gaze from the sun and looked at the group of students around him. His eyes paused their sweeping gaze has he made eye contact with his sister. Jaina smiled at him; he smiled back. She could feel the same warmth in him that she was experiencing. The twins shared their inner warmth for a brief moment across the unique connection they possessed. They made each other stronger and more alive. The two of them had grown very strong over the past year as they had explored their unique skill of union. Their uncle and Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker, had told them that all Jedi have a degree of mental communication, some stronger than others. He had told them of the connection he shared with their mother. Luke was able to communicate with their mother, Leia, for a limited duration, depending on the distance separating them. But Luke had never before seen the kind of bond that the twins shared.

As the twins broke their gaze they noticed that other students were awakening from the sun meditation that Master Skywalker had put them through. Jaina saw her younger brother, Anakin, return his gaze to the rest of the group, and she smiled at him. She was unable to get a return smile from her emotionless brother. She frowned at him slightly, still getting no result. She had noticed the change in her brother over the last few months. He had been so curious and full of life before. Jaina loved to work with computers and machines, and Anakin had loved to watch, always giving annoying advice and constantly teasing her when she made mistakes. She usually had to force him to leave her quarters in order for her to get any work done. Usually though, when she finally got him out of her room, she would go ahead and follow her brother's advice with a one hundred percent success ratio.

Although she was very good with machines, she had had to work hard to become so. Anakin however, seemed to pick up complicated mechanical theory as naturally as a baby acquires the ability to walk or talk. But in the past few months he had stopped his curious and out-going attitude and had become much more reclusive and somber. She had tried to probe his mind for the reason of his emotional change, but Anakin was much stronger in the Force than she was, and he was able to block her attempts. Luke had simply told her to give him a while to get over what ever he was struggling with.

Whatever the case emotionally, Anakin didn't have any problems with the Force. He was doing extremely well and as a young student of the Academy, he was already one of the strongest members. His only rival for the top spot in the Academy was standing ten meters away from him. Jacen, unlike Jaina, spent very little time with machines, but preferred nature. He had collected many different kinds of extraordinary pets over his time at the Academy. He spent his time outside of class strolling the jungle and focusing on the life around him. It was in these walks that Jacen had found the power of the Force. He was in very good shape and was incredibly attuned to his body. One time Luke had ventured deep into the jungle, on his own accord, and found Jacen fighting with a tree thasteringe, a 1.75 meter tall bear-like creature that lived in only the densest of jungles. Luke started to rush in to help, but paused when he saw that Jacen was winning the fight. Luke instead took up a position to watch the fight. After a few moments Jacen was able to pin the thasteringe to the ground in an awkward position. The thasteringe struggled uselessly against Jacen and soon gave up. Jacen got up from the animal and helped it up. The two hugged and parted company. Luke was amazed. Jacen walked over to where his pack and belt were laying and paused, looking right at Luke's hiding spot. Luke, knowing he was discovered, stepped out from behind a tree, "You fought well, but I don't understand?"

Jacen, understanding his Master's confusion, clarified his actions. "Her name is Munthy. We fight about twice a week. I don't always win. It keeps me in shape, and she enjoys the company."

When Jaina had heard the story from her uncle, she could only laugh at her brother's playful attitude with the dangerous animal. She looked at her brothers now and swelled with pride for them. Master Skywalker was talking to the group of students but Jaina wasn't listening. She knew what he was saying anyway. He was introducing her brothers to the rest of the students. There were a few new students, but more than that, Jacen and Anakin were about to duel for the top spot in the class.

The lightsaber tournament had begun at the beginning of this week, and now only her two brothers remained undefeated. Jacen was expected to win and had had no problem advancing to the finals, beating Jaina in the semi-finals. No one knew how good Anakin really was because he always played to the level of his competition. He had barely beaten the first student he had played even though it was a student that had just started training with a lightsaber two weeks previous. Yet he was able to beat Lowbacca, the twin's wookiee friend and nephew to Chewbacca, who was heavily favored over Anakin because of his speed and strength.

Master Skywalker stopped talking to the students and turned his attention to the two combatants. He explained the rules to the brothers, and he told them to commence at their leisure.

They nodded toward their uncle and began to circle each other. Anakin unhooked his lightsaber from his belt but didn't ignite it. Jacen's remained on his belt. Both of the lightsabers were in reality Jacen's because Anakin had not yet built one even though he was old enough. Both of the lightsaber had filters screwed onto the top of them. The filters were an invention of Jaina. They filtered out the heat and hard light of the laser swords, reducing the lightsabers to simple focused flashlights. They would harmlessly pass through anything, but they were electrically charged so they would repel each other. Anakin ignited his lightsaber but didn't charge. Jacen finally unhooked his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it.

Anakin began to swing his weapon in graceful arcs though the air causing it to appear as a blue blur. Anakin increased the speed of the arcs and began to more intricately twirl his weapon around his body. Many of the students were entranced by the performance, but Jacen simply smiled at his brother's trick. It was meant to entrance him - to lull him into a state of unreadiness. It wouldn't work on someone of Jacen's skill, although many of the beginner students were already lulled into a comatose state. At the same time though Jacen was confused at this ploy by his brother. Not only should Anakin have realized that this trick would have no affect on Jacen, but he had never tried anything like this in any of his previous battles. This simple trick could have easily defeated at least three of his earlier opponents.

Anakin began walking toward his brother, and Jacen met him halfway. The twin blue blades clashed and slashed against each other. They stood stock-still while their arms were involved in blinding flashes of movement that seemed to exceed the speed of light. Suddenly they broke off and Jacen did a backflip away from his brother. They walked toward each other again. Jacen held his lightsaber in his left hand away from his body. His other arm was also held wide opening his body up to attack. A weaker student might have fallen into this trick, rushing into attack the apparently unprotected fighter, but Anakin didn't change his style, continuing his steady approach. Jacen took a sudden step forward with his left foot and brought his sword in with a sweeping attack from the outside. Anakin swung his weapon down across his body to block the quick attack. Just before the two blades collided. Jacen flipped his wrist, rotating his blade parallel to his body and away from Anakin. Anakin had expected to block the blow and his momentum put him slightly off-balanced to his right. Jacen tossed the lightsaber across his body to his empty right hand. His caught it as it swept in from the right. Anakin's left side was totally exposed to the attack, and he knew he had no chance of parrying the swing. In a desperate effort to dodge the weapon he leaped into the air off his right foot. Jacen adjusted his swing slightly, and his lightsaber passed through Anakin's right ankle. Anakin continued his jump and flipped back three meters, landing facing his brother.

"A leg hit. Two points for Jacen Solo. The score is two to zero, Jacen Solo is winning," said Em-Tedee, Lowbacca's translator droid and official scorekeeper.

Jacen looked at his brother and saw a pained expression cross his face. Jacen thought Anakin was upset at his failure to avoid the clever attack, but then he sensed something to his right. Without looking in that direction, Jacen broke the branch in half with the Force, one half passing in front of his head and the other behind.

"Illegal play. One warning issued to Anakin Solo. The next one will result in a point for Jacen Solo."

Jacen glanced at Master Skywalker for his reaction. As soon as he looked, he realized that it was a trick meant for him to glance at the Master. He quickly returned his gaze to his opponent. Anakin was only a half a meter away from him, and Jacen was barely able to parry his vicious attacks. The frenzied swinging of Anakin was very unorthodox, yet because of the speed of the attack and because Jacen was caught off guard, Jacen couldn't attack back. Forced to take up a defensive position, Jacen was able to parry each blow, but realized he needed to regroup in order to be able to attack back. He flipped back as he parried one particularly hard blow and landed a few meters away. As he landed he saw that his brother had leaped after him. Jacen somersaulted forward underneath his airborne brother. Anakin landed with his back to Jacen. Jacen swung his lightsaber in a lazy swing. Anakin, obviously expecting the attack, dropped to his back and swung over his head. Jacen's swing passed harmlessly over his descending brother, but Anakin's blade cut cleanly through both of Jacen's legs. Jacen leaped back in vain and cursed himself silently for his mistake. Anakin got up and smiled at him.

"Two leg hits. Four points for Anakin Solo. The score is four to two. Anakin Solo is winning."

The two walked together. Jacen was cautious, knowing that he was only one point away from defeat. He needed a three point body shot, but Anakin wasn't giving him any openings. They fought now in classical style. Both taking the offensive and defensive. Each of them was waiting for the other to make a strategic attack. Anakin was the first to try a move. He swung in from the left at shoulder height. Jacen made the textbook parry with his lightsaber vertically positioned at his shoulder. As the lightsabers collided, Anakin, instead of letting his blocked attack float along Jacen's lightsaber vertically, as the momentum of his attack would have carried it, rotated his wrist and let the impact of the blow deflect his blade downward. He let go with his left hand and spun his lightsaber in a complete vertical circle at the side of his body, attacking from above.

Jacen sensed something different when he saw the blade angle down after the parry. He positioned himself for a low parry, thinking that Anakin would use the low deflection for a leg shot. However, when Anakin's lightsaber rotated around to the top, Jacen saw how out of position he was. Jacen's dexterity saved him though, and at the last second he was able to parry the strike inward.

Anakin was now out of position. Jacen swung in a sideways swipe from the left. Anakin, with still only one hand on the weapon, tried a desperate backhand block. As the blades approached each other Jacen deactivated his lightsaber, and Anakin's blade flew through the empty space. The unexpected move caught Anakin totally by surprise, and the momentum of his backhand plus the weak grip on his weapon resulted in the lightsaber flying from his hand. Jacen continued his attack with his deactivated weapon, stopping his swing when the handle pointed directly at Anakin's chest. Anakin had both arms spread wide, and he looked down at the handle pointed toward his heart.

Anakin dropped his arms and looked up at his brother. "Yield?" Jacen asked. Anakin didn't say anything, but dropped his head in apparent defeat. Jacen turned from his brother and took a few steps away. Sensing motion behind him, Jacen whirled back to his brother. He saw a blue flash come streaking toward him from where Anakin's weapon had fallen. Still holding his deactivated weapon in his right hand, he caught the other one in his left. He ignited his right hand weapon, and both custom made blades shrank to two thirds of a meter in length. Before Em-Tedee could call another illegal play against Anakin, Jacen advanced toward his brother with both blades twirling about him like a Twi'lek dancer with a pair of ribbons. The blades cut and slashed through Anakin in a varied array of brilliant blue flashes. Anakin stood tall under the blinding show of swordsmanship without flinching. After five long seconds, Jacen flipped both blades into the air. Both deactivated and fell nicely onto Jacen's belt. The brothers stood there facing each other with expressionless faces.

Em-Tedee broke the silience, "Seventeen arm hits, twelve leg hits, and twenty-two body hits. One hundred twenty-four points for Jacen Solo. The score is one hundred twenty-six to four. Jacen Solo wins."

Both brothers burst out laughing. They hugged each other, and the group of students who had been dumbfounded and silent, burst into applause.

****

Chapter 2 "Rewarding Surprises"

Lando Calrissian shut off the communication intercom. He had just received clearance to land on Yavin IV. He put the controls of the Lady Luck on autopilot and let the craft guide itself in. He'd landed on Yavin IV before, and the procedure had been no walk in the park. First you had to approach the moon from the correct side. The immense gravity well caused by the gas giant Yavin, played havoc with a ship's navigational equipment if you tried to enter the atmosphere planet-side. Since you were restricted on what side of the planet you could enter, you would frequently enter on the wrong side of the moon and had to circle around to the side containing the Academy. That wasn't the biggest problem because after a little research into the moons orbiting pattern, it was easy to time your arrival so you could avoid a planet-side landing. The biggest hassle was trying to land a large ship in a heavily forested area with active airborne wildlife to throw all of your proximity sensors off. Also there wasn't very many landing spots on the forest moon. It wasn't a tourist attraction, and nobody stayed long.

Lando put all of that behind him as he kicked up his feet on the edge of his control panel. This landing would be a lot easier. Lobot, Lando's long-time friend, turned and tried to reason out Lando's actions. He was aware of the treacherous landing procedures involved with visits to Yavin IV, and Lando's actions confused him. "You seem a little relaxed before a tricky landing."

"This landing is going to be the smoothest thing you've ever experienced, buddy. So you can just sit back and relax."

Lobot was unconvinced. All of the data he had gathered about this moon said that it wasn't safe to try to land on autopilot. "I'm confused."

Lando swung his feet down from their elevated position and turned to face his companion. "I just got off the horn with the flight controller down at the Academy. They have a new system for receiving incoming ships. All of the incoming traffic is requested to put their ships on autopilot, and a few of the students who are stationed at the landing zone guide the ship in."

"Guide?"

"Yea, guide. You know, with the Force."

Lobot frowned slightly. "Isn't that a little risky, Lando? I mean they are just students. Wouldn't it be safer just to land the ship on your own and let the students think that they landed it for you?"

Lando chuckled a little at his friend's skepticism. He and Lobot had been partners through a lot of adventures and misadventures. Lobot had been able to handle the numbers of all of Lando's many ventures. If it hadn't been for Lobot, the Cloud City mining operation would have gone bankrupt long before the Imperials showed up. Though this was Lobot's obvious strength, it was also his subtle weakness. If you couldn't prove it on paper then it was only natural to believe that it wasn't feasible. But then Lobot hadn't been there when Lando had watched Luke defeat all of Jaba's guards and rescue him, Han, and Leia with the Force. Before that, Lando had been a semi-skeptic like Lobot, but now he believed. "Don't worry, friend, I trust them."

The Lady Luck's autopilot kept them aloft while a pair of students guided the craft into an open clearing. As they descended past the tree line, Lando saw that they didn't have more than two meters of clearance on any side. "It's a close fit. They must be cramped for space if they're sticking us in this small landing spot."

"Perhaps they are expecting more visitors," Lobot offered.

"Yea, maybe, but we are here first. What ever happened to first come first serve? Besides who are we, Coruscant sewer rats! I mean I was a general in the New Republic for a while."

Lobot didn't respond. He closed his eyes and several lights on his Hamarian interface band started blinking, showing that he was trying to obtain a link with another computer. A brief while later he opened his eyes. "Tomorrow the Academy is expecting the arrival of Princess Leia, General Solo, and the Queen Mother of the Hapes cluster along with her royal guards."

"Ah, well," for the first time Lobot could remember Lando was speechless. "This landing spot is okay, I guess," Lando finally conceded.

After the ship had landed, Lando and Lobot proceeded toward the exit ramp. The hatch to the outside opened with a hiss, and the ramp lowered slowly to the ground. Lando stepped out onto the ramp and took a deep breath of the clean air. This was probably Lando's favorite atmosphere. He hadn't been on Yavin IV that many times before, but each time he came he wished that he could stay longer than he had allotted time for. The overwhelming peace of the forest moon had a unique tranquilizing effect on Lando as it probably had on all visitors. It was that peacefulness, Lando was sure, that made this the perfect place for Luke to build an Academy. Lando stepped off the ramp and onto the spongy grass of the moon. What, he thought, not even a concrete base to land on. Luke would get an earful from him.

One of the students approached Lando. She was a young woman with long black hair. Her features struck Lando as being incredibly neutral - neither attractive nor otherwise. "Welcome, my name is Froincy. Master Skywalker has been notified of your arrival and is waiting for you in his quarters. Do you know the way?"

Lando nodded an affirmative, but the student led him toward the temple anyway. As they walked through the thin foliage between the landing site and the Academy, Lando tried to formulate the upcoming conversation with Luke. Recently every conversation he had had with the Jedi Master had started out as friendly chitchat that had nothing to do with the Force. But the conversations had always ended with Luke becoming very serious and grave. Lando wanted to make sure to try to keep this conversation away from that kind of a downward spin. Yet he realized that the request he was going to make would do more to invite Luke's stern manner than anything he could do to prevent it.

The young woman stopped at the entrance to the living quarters and allowed Lando and Lobot to enter alone, trusting that Lando did indeed know the way. The corridors of the stone building seemed very cold and ancient. Lando breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't in the least way Force sensitive because he didn't know if he would be able to live in these kind of quarters. They approached Luke's room, and before Lando could knock, Luke's voice greeted them from within the room. "Come on in, it's not locked."

Lando shrugged and realized that it was definitely getting harder to sneak up on Luke. He pushed the door open and walked into Luke's room. The room itself was very different from the man who lived in it. Tapestries were hung over the wall. Lando didn't know if this was to hide the hideous stone wall, or because the vibrant colors of the varied tapestries helped Luke in meditation. The furniture was scarce yet comfortable. Luke obviously never planned on entertaining many guests in his room because there were only two chairs to sit on and his bed. Lando turned finally to Luke who was sitting on the floor cross-legged with his eyes closed. "Go ahead and take a seat," Luke said without opening his eyes. Lobot and Lando eased into the two chairs and watched as Luke levitated off the floor. He rose to a height of about one meter and then gracefully floated over to his bed. He slowly lowered himself to the surface of his bed and finally opened his eyes. He uncrossed his legs and stared at his guests.

Lando paused thinking that Luke was going to say something, but then realized that he should make a sarcastic comment about the landing spot to try to get the conversation started on the right foot.

"I hope the landing accommodations weren't too much trouble. We we're expecting some very important guests tomorrow, and we are a little pressed for space."

Lando almost swallowed his tounge trying to hold back the comment he was about to make which, after what Luke had just said, would be very insulting. Lobot rescued him. "It wasn't any trouble at all. Your students did a very fine job."

Compliment him, Lando thought, that's a good start. "Yes, it was a very smooth landing. It's about time you thought of a way to make visiting here less of a chore." Lando froze after hearing what he had just said. It sounded a little more accusatory and derogatory when he said it out loud than it had in his head.

"It was one of the students who thought of it actually," Luke said. "Now what can I do for you. I know how much of a chore it is for you to visit me, so maybe I can help you, and you can be on your way."

Bad start. Very bad start. Lando tried to ignore everything that had just happened and launched himself into his opening just like he had rehearsed it. "Could you remind me what exactly this Academy is for?" This time even Lobot seemed startled. Moving from "Visiting this place is a chore" to "Why is it even here" seemed like a very bad way to get someone to do a favor for you.

Luke didn't seem too offended by it, and Lando was relieved. "The Academy is here to help people who are sensitive to the Force come to a greater realization of the power they posses, teach them how to use that power, and also to teach them of the great responsibility they have not to abuse that power." Luke paused. "Does this cause validate the Academy's existence?"

Lando wished he could just get up, leave the room, and start this whole conversation over again. But there was no rewind button on his life that he knew of, so he just kept on going. "And after the students are trained in the Force, then what?"

"They are free to do what ever they please. Many will enter the New Republic and offer their assistance where needed, while others will go on with the rest of their lives by returning to their home planet. But they will all have the new responsibility of preserving the peace, protecting the people around them from the evils of the Dark Side and those who wield it."

Boy this next question was going to sound dumb. "Yes, but how are they going to eat?"

"Excuse me?" Luke interrupted before Lando could clarify his statement.

"I mean how are they going to make a living? You know. How are they going to make money? You know what I'm talking about. You grew up on Tatooine. The only way you got food on the table and clothes on your back was if you worked hard and made money."

Lando paused, seeing how Luke accepted his reasoning. Getting no response he continued. "The few who join the New Republic will live comfortable lives on Coruscant, no doubt. But the ones who travel abroad are going to find that life isn't a bed of Florian sunbuds."

Lando again paused, waiting for Luke's rebuttal. Again Luke remained impassive, so Lando launched into his next counter to a comment that Luke didn't make. "Sure they might run into a few people who know about the Jedi and respect what your students are about. They might get a few free meals from a restaurant after they thwart an attempted robbery. But that generosity will eventually run out, and then do you know where that will leave them?"

Lando pretended that Luke said, "No where?" and continued, "It will leave them out in the cold - that's where." Lando paused to gather his breath and thoughts. He was growing rather annoyed at Luke. Luke was making Lando fight a battle against someone who wasn't even striking back, and the sad part was that Lando was losing.

"Your students will need to find jobs. Jobs where they can earn respect, friends, and money." Lando knew that even a blind Calamarian cave bat could see where he was going with this conversation.

Luke decided to enter the conversation at this point. "So what's your new scheme?"

"It's not a scheme. It's an investment. An old Imperial crystal mine. It's been deserted for a long time now. Ever since we defeated Thrawn and the Imperials pulled back into the core systems it's been vacant. Think about it Luke. The New Republic could use a good source of industrial strength crystals. Their value in weapons is immeasurable and their use in construction is incredible. Those are the two main goals of the New Republic, aren't they? Weapons to push back the remnants of the Empire and to protect their aligned worlds. And at the same time expansion and construction, rebuilding what the Empire destroyed."

"It sounds good. But what do you need from me?"

This was the heart of the meeting and Lando wanted to make sure that he delivered it right. "The mines have been deserted for more than a decade now, but most of the Imperial defense systems are still operational. My initial evaluation of the mines showed that there are several power systems operating down there that are unaccounted for on the plans we acquired. I think they might be traps that the Empire set up before evacuating the mines. None of my people are qualified to go down into the mines and disable these unknown traps without major risk of setting them off and bringing my whole operation literally crashing down.

"I'm sure that the Imperials designed the place to collapse against any intruders, but left a way in so they could return in the future and still use the mines. What I need is a few people who can sense these traps, devices, or whatever they might be and be able to disarm them without bringing harm to the valuable mines below. What I need are Jedi. Of course they will get paid just like all of my other workers." Lando decided to wait this time until Luke answered.

"You want to take advantage of their Force skill so you can make some money?"

Lando was ready for this comment, as he had been for many others that Luke hadn't made. "No more than you would take advantage of an architect's skills when you ask him to build you a house, or a chef's skills when you ask him to make you a meal. Are you taking advantage of them so you can have a home or food? No. You are hiring them to do a job that they are qualified for."

"And if they fail you will use them for cannon fodder."

"The student is only as good as the teacher."

Luke paused for a long time. Too long, Lando thought. He felt that Luke wasn't going to comply. "You said yourself that after they graduate they are free to do what ever they please," Lando said desperately.

"I will think about it," Luke finally said. 

To Lando this was a very loud "No." Lando got up from the chair and started to leave. "I will be here for another day. Please tell me when you make up your mind." Luke didn't reply, and Lando and Lobot found their own way to the door and left.

"I don't think that it went well," Lobot said after they had walked a bit. "He beat you quite soundly." Lando didn't need Lobot to rub anymore salt into his wounds, but he had learned from experience that whenever Lobot had something to say, it was always good to let him say it because his unique approach often led to unobvious answers. "You went into the conversation confident that you were right. You were able to make your presentation just as you had rehearsed it, and you even got him to make a few comments that you were ready for. Yet you leave now quite certain of defeat. Quite a dramatic turn around wouldn't you say? It might prove interesting to evaluate the chain of events that brought about such a change."

Lando thought about this for a while. Lobot was right. He had been able to present his speech exactly as he had planned. Luke didn't interject as often as he had hoped for but the few things he did say were exactly what Lando knew he would say. Why did he lose? It was like going into a test knowing all of the answers before hand, yet afterwards feeling like you failed. Had Luke planned it that way? No. Had he used some kind of Jedi mind trick? Lando was sure that Luke would never do anything like that to one of his friends. If Lando still was one of his friends. Lobot was right. Lando would definitely go over the conversation in his mind several times when he got the chance. Being an independent businessman he had no one to fall back on when he made a mistake, so he tried to make as few as possible, and he made an extra effort to learn from the ones he did make.

When Lando and Lobot exited the building, Froincy was standing there. Lando was a little surprised that she was still waiting for them. "Come with me," she said, "and I'll let you meet them."

"Who? Meet who?" Lando asked puzzled.

It was Froincy's turn to be confused. "To meet the two students that Master Skywalker has chosen to go with you."

Lando was both shocked and confused. "He's already chosen two people? But he just told us that he would think about it, and it sounded pretty much like a 'no' to me."

Froincy smiled, realizing what had taken place. "Master Skywalker knew of your potential request two days ago. He made the announcement to a group of graduating students and asked for volunteers. From those who volunteered he picked two. Did he not make this clear to you?"

Realization struck Lando like a slap in the face. "No. No he did not," he said stressing each word. "But he'll wish he did." With that Lando turned on his heels and raced back into the building.

Lobot turned to Froincy. "You'll have to excuse my associate. I believe a joke has been made at his expense. Now you'll have to excuse me, for I fear he will do something rash."

Lando burst into Luke's room to find the Jedi Master laughing uncontrollably. Lando stood there staring at him, knowing full well that Luke knew he was there. "I'm sorry Lando," Luke squeaked between laughs.

"You'll have to do better than sorry," Lando said trying to sound mad, though the humor of the situation was finally getting to him. "The whole thing was a setup wasn't it?" Luke nodded his head still not able to talk. "Even the landing site?"

Luke finally managed to control himself. "You can move your ship if you like. We have plenty of better sights."

"How did you know?" Lando asked finally giving up on his mad act.

"When I heard you were going to visit I wondered why. A little research showed me that you had visited the Imperial mines and already hired a few people and bought some equipment." Another laugh escaped, and Luke coughed trying to compose himself. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. I knew I wouldn't say no, but I wondered what your reaction would be if I did. You should have seen the look on your face when I shot down your comment about the landing site. You looked like a Gamorean who had just been told he couldn't have seconds at meal time." Luke started laughing all over again, and this time Lando joined him.

Lobot walked in on the pair and found to his relief that they were both in good spirits. After a few laughs they calmed Lobot's previous fears and got down to business.

"So you've already picked out two people for me?"

Luke nodded. "They're two good students in this year's graduating class."

"The best of the class?" Lando asked.

"I'm afraid not. I don't think Han would look too fondly on having his kids working in a mine after his experience at Kessel."

"I see. How are the twins?"

"They're doing fine; but back to the ones who will be going with you. Their names are Yova and Trince. Yova is from Strotto. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that planet or their people. The Strottons are a short humanoid race with a love of rock. The Strottons have lived most of their lives under ground, and have only recently come to the surface due to over crowding in the caves. Yova is very intelligent, which is not a common trait among her people. They were simply ignored by most of the galaxy until they surfaced a few decades ago. I was really interested in her people when she came to the Academy. A race of individuals who live so closely intertwined with their planet must have incredible Force potential, however like I said earlier, they do not focus themselves on the mental part of life, and most of them don't have the mental endurance to properly wield the Force. Yova, though, was definitely one of quickest learners that I've had at the Academy so far, and her experience underground makes her an obvious choice for your project.

"Trince is a human from the Corellian system. And like Han, everyone's favorite Corellian, he is very independent and self-reliant. He relies on the Force a great deal and had almost come to the point of over use. He isn't very big as far as size and muscle, so he used to avoid work as much as he could and let the Force do everything. For example he would use the Force to tie his boots, or to pick up an object rather than getting up to get it. But he is over that now. In fact he's found that by using a combination of the Force and his body he is able to achieve more than just the sum of his parts."

Lando listened closely to Luke's description of the two students and was pleased. "Well, thank-you Luke. I really appreciate this."

"Hey, it's not me. Like you said, once they graduate they are free to do what ever they want. Besides, I agree with you that they should get jobs rather than trying to live off the title of Jedi Knight Sworn Protector of the Galaxy."

Lando got up, and he and Luke shook hands. Lando had a lot of planing to do. He needed supplies, extra food for two more people, and most of all he had to plan how he would get back at Luke.

***

Tallon looked around the table at the assembly of all his finest officers. There was General Oskiman, commander of the Imperial fleet in this sector and second in command to Tallon himself. The title of general was higher than that of captain, but both Tallon and Oskiman knew that Oskiman's duty was restricted to that of the military. Oskiman had been promoted to general just to give the commander of the fleet a respectable title. He was a short squat man with a bushy mustache, but what he lacked in physical stature, he made up for in his commanding voice. Tallon had seen him chew out men who were twice his size. Men who, if they had the courage, could have whipped him in a fight. He had seen Oskiman reduce these men to a mere shriveling piece of flesh with no more than his tongue.

Then there was Commander Snotzenexer, a tactical genius. He was a shy man and usually hid behind Oskiman, but he was the only person that Oskiman never yelled at. Snotzenexer had a mind for battle like none Tallon had ever seen. Serving with Oskiman, he allowed the short General to take most of the credit for his strategic maneuvers, but his prowess had not escaped the all-seeing eyes of Tallon.

Next to Snotzenexer sat Salin Frowinger and Dr. Kendel, the Empire's best scientist and the Empire's best doctor. The two of them had been working on the cloning project, trying to not only improve the process, but to expand it to cover a wider range of possibilities. And for the most part they had been very successful.

Lastly there was Thorock and Borock, two Salynoids. They were the only non-humans in the room, but they were perhaps the two people that Tallon trusted and respected the most. They were telepaths, and their large bulb-shaped heads contained minds that were far past anything Tallon had experienced before. He had tried to get Dr. Kendel to clone them, but to date, the attempt was Kendel's only failure. The two Salynoids were in charge of weapons technology and they were doing so fine a job that Tallon mourned that the Empire had not discovered these fascinating people earlier. If Thorock and Borock had been in charge of building the Death Star, there is no way that a single fighter would have been able to take it out.

At the head of the table sat Tallon. They were waiting for one more person to arrive, but as Tallon searched the room he saw that there were no more chairs. Thrawn entered the room with his calm easy strides, and Tallon got up to offer the Admiral his seat. "Sit in your chair Captain. I prefer to stand," Thrawn's voice was smooth and calm, yet had an edge to it that made everything sound like a command. Tallon immediately noticed that Thrawn was wearing an Admiral's uniform instead of a Grand Admiral's. Tallon looked around the room again and placed his bet on Snotzenexer for the first person who would question Thrawn's change in rank. The others would surely notice it, but only Snotzenexer would be able to recognize the implications of such a demotion if that is what it was. Also he would be the only one, in his reclusive nature, bold enough to question Thrawn.

Thrawn strode to the head of the table and stood next to Tallon, scanning the members of the meeting. Tallon knew enough about Thrawn to realize that in this quick evaluation of his men he was learning as much about them as Tallon himself already knew, maybe more. Thrawn paused as he examined the two Salynoids. Tallon guessed that it was probably the first time Thrawn had ever seen the green skinned aliens. Thrawn's gaze continued to pass over the men seated there. He paused again when he saw the look on Snotzenexer face. "You wish to ask me something, Commander?"

Snotzenexer didn't hesitate, "Your rank is incorrect, sir. I am simply curious."

Thrawn smiled at his direct boldness, "I have demoted myself, Commander. There is no one ranked higher than me, so I was forced to do the action myself. There is no room for failure even among the leaders of the Empire."

"I simply thought that your death would have been punishment enough."

Tallon was taken aback at Snotzenexer's casual reference to the event that he was sure Thrawn was a little bit touchy about. But Thrawn's smile increased tenfold. "It might have been enough of a punishment for me, but it was not public enough for the Empire. We need our people to know that their leaders, though superior to them in every way, are not infallible and are still subject to punishment. You will find that your men will be more willing to take orders from you if they know that their commanders will take responsibility for the outcome instead of blaming it on them for simply following orders. Also your men will be more willing to take risks that could lead to mistakes if they know that even their commanding officers make mistakes. And you of course know that if we don't take risks we will never make any progress." Snotzenexer seemed content with the answer. Tallon knew that Thrawn's demotion changed nothing. Thrawn was still the highest commanding Imperial officer in this sector, and probably this galaxy.

Thrawn finished his evaluation of the men at the table and then nodded to Tallon to begin the meeting. Tallon nodded and turned to his notes in front of him. "General," he said turning to Oskiman, "status of the fleet?"

"The fleet grows stronger as we speak. The shipyards are producing the ships with incredible efficiency and we are finding that the quality of these ships is outstanding. Presently we have two fully staffed Super Star Destroyers, the Dark Fist and the Doomsday Hammer. Both have full compliments of TIE fighters and bombers and the Dark Fist is fully loaded with ground assault equipment. We also have a fleet of forty Imperial class Star Destroyers all fully staffed and containing full compliments of TIE's. We have two hundred Victory class Star Destroyers also all staffed and equipped. Finally we have twenty Interdiction Cruisers. All of the crews are highly trained and ready for deployment anywhere to crush the Rebellion, sir."

"Very good General, but we-" Tallon started and the General began to frown. Oskiman was sick of sitting on his hands and waiting; he wanted to do something.

Thrawn put a hand on Tallon's shoulder, stopping him in mid sentence. "Prepare the Dark Fist and several Imperial class Star Destroyers for a ground attack," Thrawn said to Oskiman.

"Yes sir," he replied over enthusiastically. "May I inquire of the target?"

"In good time General."

Tallon waited to see if Thrawn was finished and moved on to Snotzenexer. "Commander do you have anything to report?"

"The Admiral had me look into a few things, but I don't have anything of importance," he responded.

"What do you have?" Thrawn asked.

"Well, you asked me to locate some New Republic art, but I was unable to find anything."

"That's not what you mean. You found something, but you didn't think it was art, did you?"

"Well, sir, all I found was that the New Republic decorates all of their buildings with live plants, but they don't have many sculptures or paintings."

Thrawn smiled again. "What is your definition of art, Commander?"

Snotzenexer paused. "The expression of emotion through the manipulation of a tangible physical object."

"And you don't think that plants are an expression of emotion?"

"Well . . ., I . . ." but he was at a loss for words.

"I came to the same roadblock as you when I first looked into this until I realized that the New Republic loves life itself. This is evident in their involvement in the Light Side of the Force. It was this oversight that caused my defeat in my earlier campaign. The New Republic's strength is their association with the Force and those who wield it. This time we will attack them properly."

Snotzenexer nodded in understanding and Tallon took this to be the end of the conversation so he moved on to the next person. "Mr. Frowinger how are you coming with the cloaking devices?"

"I just about have the cloaking device designed for the Dark Ring, and I am sure that with our incredible man-power, once designed it will be only a mater of days before it is installed."

"What of the HRD I asked you to design?" Thrawn asked. Tallon looked up at Thrawn. Had the Admiral met with all of his men already?

"I was able to retrieve the designs from Prince Xizor's file and believe that with Dr. Kendel's help I will be able have it operational with the likeness you requested within the week."

With a quick glance at Thrawn to see if that was all, Tallon moved onto the Doctor. "Do you have anything to add, Doctor?"

"All of the cloning cylinders on the Dark Ring are working properly, and," he glanced at Thrawn wanting to address his question before he asked it, "I have finished my work on the special cylinders that you requested, however; as of now they are untested." He paused. "I do have one question though. With the incredible energy source made available to us with the Dark Ring and the immense amount of cloning cylinders, I am finding that we almost have too many personnel. If we continue to clone at our current rate we will have an over flow of personnel. Only so many people can work on a given ship or project, and we don't have enough resources to keep them all occupied."

Thrawn nodded in understanding. He had thought that this might be a problem, and he already had a solution. "Have some of your excess men come to this planet," he said. "Have them start to build a small city where your men can come to relax. Build several gaming facilities, eating establishments, and the like. We will be here for the long haul, so don't be afraid to splurge.

"Clone an architect and an engineer and put them in charge of the project. As soon as you have an excess of personal, allow time off. For every six months worked, they may have two weeks off. That should solve your overcrowding problem on the work force and at the same time it will increase morale and production. You will find that your men will work harder if they know they will get a reward when they are done."

Finally Tallon turned to the Salynoids and merely motioned them to speak. "We are happy to report that the structural work on the Dark Ring is completed, and only the inside and living quarters need to still be worked on. This completion is exactly 1.73 years ahead of schedule," Thorock said. Tallon had never heard Borock speak, apparently their unique relationship required only one voice.

Thrawn had not met with them earlier, and he did not have any particular assignments for them. "When can I see the Dark Ring I have heard so much about?" he asked.

"We can take you there anytime at your leisure," Thorock responded.

Tallon, seeing that the meeting was drawing to a close, stood up. "Well, gentlemen. We all have work to do, so let's get busy."

***

Captain Tallon, Admiral Thrawn, the two Salynoids, and a pilot were on an Imperial shuttle shooting through hyperspace. The pilot spoke, "Approaching destination. Preparing to drop out of hyperspace now." As he spoke he pushed the hyperspace throttle forward, and the star lines dropped into single dots. Before them loomed an incredible darkness - a darkness that blotted out all of the stars from their forward vision. Thrawn squinted out of the window, trying to get a better look at what was ahead of them. As they drew closer, he could make out what looked like an enormous wall of metal that disappeared from view in all directions, appearing to stretch out infinitely. Thrawn was soon able to detect a slight curvature in the wall and guessed that it was somewhat spherical. Features on the wall band began to become visible the closer they came. Scaffolding seemed to cover the entire structure, and Thrawn could see thousands of people crawling around on the outside. Thrawn could also see that it was slowly spinning around an axis. As soon as the magnificent structure came into view Thorock began to spew out facts about it.

"The Dark Ring is shaped like a sphere that is open at the two poles. The radius of the Dark Ring is slightly over seventy-five million kilometers. At the center of the Dark Ring is a class four star named Danzig 359. The inside of the Dark Ring is covered with solar panels, and it can produce more power in a second than a Super Star Destroyer can in one hundred years. The ring itself is more like a very wide band that encompasses the star. The surface height of the Dark Ring is one hundred million kilometers. The depth of the Dark Ring is a little over fifty kilometers. It contains about two hundred million human cloning cylinders and one thousand ysalameri cloning cylinders. Presently the Dark Ring can contain fifty million personnel, but when completed it will be able to house close to two hundred fifty million officers and another one billion personnel. There are one thousand Death Star lasers placed uniformly around the band, so that no ship can approach the band without being in range of at least three of these lasers. It also contains over one billion heavy turbo lasers. The section of the Dark Ring that is used for a ship yard has a depth of two hundred kilometers and can house five Super Star Destroyers at once. Presently one Super Star Destroyer, five Imperial class Star Destroyers, and twenty Victory class Star Destroyers are under construction. The construction of this facility is now entering its seventy-seventh year."

Admiral Thrawn turned to Captain Tallon. "I was not aware that this existed. I knew that there was a cloning facility at this outpost. But this I did not expect."

"Not many people were aware of it. I am told that this project was kept secret from even Lord Vader. When the Emperor started this eighty years ago, about fifteen years before the clone wars he didn't let anyone know about it. When I arrived almost twenty-three years ago it was about half completed, but under my supervision and an increased cloning rate due to your discovery of the special qualities of the ysalamiri, I was able to more than double the rate of construction."

Thrawn nodded and kept looking at the immense display of power. After Thorock heard that they were finished talking, he jumped back into his string of statistics. He explained how many hundreds of planets they stripped bare of resources; how many oceans they sucked dry and desalted; how many animals are required to feed all of the men; and how much air is produced to fill the station. The small speck on the surface of the Dark Ring that they were approaching was slowly growing larger. At a distance Thrawn judged that it was simply a small shuttle landing bay, but as they neared he saw that this opening was big enough to hold a Victory class Star Destroyer. Thrawn realized that the Empire was in a better position than he had thought. And he was sure that they were in a much better position then the New Republic could ever imagine.

****

Chapter 3 "Reunions"

Jacen was busy feeding his animals when his sister popped her head in the door. "Mom and Dad are coming, let's go!"

Jacen looked at her a little annoyed. "I know. I can use the Force too, you know." He turned back to his pets. "Just let me finish feeding these guys. They can land without us."

Jaina frowned. "No they can't. Don't you remember? We were going to 'Bring Them In,'" she said putting emphasis on the last three words.

A light went on in Jacen's mind. "Oh yea." He dropped the small piece of food he was holding and ran out the door after his sister to the landing spot.

***

Han flipped on the autopilot and sat back. "What are you doing?" Leia asked.

"The air controller notified me that all incoming traffic are simply to put their ships on autopilot, and a pair of students will bring us in." Han still noticed a worried look on his wife's face and Chewie barked a negative comment. "Hey," he said, "I'm the pilot and it's my ship, and I say we let them take us in. Luke's trained these kids. I'm sure they know what they're doing. Besides it might the twins taking us in." He nudged Chewie in the ribs. "Just relax."

***

Down on the ground Jacen and Jaina looked at each other and winked.

***

Han's feet fell from their propped up position as the Millennium Falcon dropped like a stone for about five meters and then stopped itself. "What the-" Han yelled. Artoo and Threepio raced into the cockpit.

"Master Solo what happened. I nearly-"

"I don't know Threepio, so shut up and let me find out." Han quickly did a systems check on the autopilot to make sure it was functioning properly. Suddenly they dropped again. "It's the students," Han said. "Maybe you were right Chewie." Chewie growled something about always being right and another drop came. "That's it. I'm flying it in the rest of the way." Han reached for the manual controls but they wouldn't respond. "Who ever it is, is pretty good because they locked me out."

Leia closed her eyes and concentrated. "It's the twins," she confirmed. "You should be proud of their advanced skill."

Han smirked. "I'm ecstatic." This time the drop included a full twist.

"I'm sure we're not in any danger. It's just their way of saying welcome back."

***

Luke looked at the twins. He couldn't really scold them too much after what he had done to Lando, but as the teacher he had to draw the line. "Okay guys," he said to the twins, "that's enough. Bring them in gently the rest of the way."

The twins shrugged in defeat. "Okay."

***

The Millennium Falcon set down gently on the firm landing spot. The ramp opened and Han strode purposefully down the ramp. Waiting for him was Luke, Lando, Lowbacca, Anakin, Jacen, and Jaina. When Han saw his three children all of his anger disappeared. He ran over and hugged his children.

"It's good to see you too Dad," Jaina said.

"Yea," he said, "we had a little trouble landing. I must be getting rusty."

"Must be," Jacen said.

Leia and Chewie were right behind Han. Leia greeted her children while Chewie walked over to Lowbacca and gave him a big wookiee hug. After the family reunion, Han saw Lando. "Hey, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you in a while. What are you up to these days?"

"Hold on," Lando chuckled, "one question at a time. I came here to ask a favor of Luke that's all."

Han looked at him suspiciously. "Since when does Luke owe you a favor. He's probably saved your skin more times than you can count."

Luke jumped in to Lando's rescue. "He waited to blow up the second Death Star until he knew I was out," Luke said trying to keep a straight face.

"Yea," Lando said to Han, and then quieter to Luke, "How close was it?"

"Too close," Luke responded.

Leia went over to her brother and gave him a hug. "When you have the time, I have something I have to tell you and Han."

"I'm not busy right now," Luke answered.

Leia looked over at Han who was talking with the twins. "Okay," she said, "let us get settled here and we'll met you in your quarters in about a half hour."

***

Luke heard the gentle knock on his door about twenty-five minutes later. He briefly remembered the levitating display he had done yesterday to unnerve Lando and smiled. "Come in." Leia and Han entered the room and took their seats in the two chairs while Luke remained seated on his bed. "So what's this all about?"

"You're not going to like it," Han said before Leia could speak.

She looked at him. "Just because you don't like it doesn't mean Luke won't." Han shrugged in a gesture of indifference. Leia turned back to her brother. "Two days ago we received a distress call from a planet in the core systems. They wanted to join the New Republic. They are aware of Imperial activity in a nearby system, and they fear for their safety."

"As far as I know the entire system is full of Imperial bases. It would have been more unusual if they would have said they weren't aware of Imperial activity," Luke said.

"That's what I said," Han agreed.

Leia shook her head. "Han's retired and you're out here so neither of you are aware of our own military activity in the core systems. We have been pushing the remnants of the Empire further and further into the core systems. Along the way we have found several planets that wanted to join the New Republic, planets that either were previously controlled by the Empire or somehow remained neutral. Each planet we add to our Republic increases our power in the core systems and decreases the Empire's. This new planet is near the edge of the border we've created. We don't have any information about it other than its name, coordinates, and what they've told us about it."

"What is its name?" Luke asked.

"Hastrin."

Luke froze momentarily. That name meant something to him. It was like a weird feeling of de-ja-vu. Had he had a vision? A dream? He couldn't remember, but he was sure that Leia was right and that there was Imperial activity around Hastrin.

Leia seemed not to notice Luke's reaction but continued her presentation. "They are a medium sized planet with a population of about seven hundred million. They said that they were able to remain neutral during the Empire's rein by giving tribute in the form of natural resources. Now the Empire seems to be regaining power and Hastrin fears that they won't be able hold off the Imperials this time. The council has decided to accept Hastrin into membership only after we have sent a delegation there to appraise the situation."

"So naturally we're their first choice," Han said, spoiling the suspense Leia was trying to build. Luke had already guessed that he and Han would be the ones going. It was the most logical choice.

"I'm sure that you'll agree that you two are the most logical choice," Leia said, stating Luke's thoughts. Luke nodded. "A planet that fears its enemy needs reassurance that the people they are looking to for protection, will indeed be strong enough to protect them. So naturally the New Republic's top General-"

"Former General," Han interrupted.

". . . and a Jedi Master would ensure the people of Hastrin of our strength, and hopefully, that we can defeat the Empire."

Han shook his head. "I just don't like the fact that we have to be the galaxy's body guards. I mean where was Hastrin twenty years ago, huh."

"Han, twenty years ago they were surrounded by the Empire," Luke said, "and they were scared to so much as breathe, not to say anything about sending a distress call to the Empire's enemies." Luke turned to Leia. "So you're here to ask me to go with Han?"

Leia cringed a little. "Not really," she admitted. "I'm more like telling what the council decided."

"Oh," Luke understood. "Well I guess I don't have a choice then."

"You can still say no, Luke. It's just that then you'll be going against the wishes of the council, and I think you should know that you're not a friend of too many people on the council. There are a lot of new members, and they weren't around when we gained our independence. They've read about the time when the Jedi were protectors of the Republic and played an active role in the government. They see you as a hermit whose kept himself on a forest moon away from the action." Leia raised her hand to stop Luke's forthcoming comment. "I know that you're here trying to restore that role of the Jedi, and if it wasn't for you, there would be no New Republic for the Jedi to protect, but I'm only one of a few people on the council who believes that. If you were to take this mission, you would change a lot of people's minds."

"I'll go, but you should have told me this earlier. I could have addressed the council and told them what I was doing."

"It's not that important Luke," Leia reassured him. "They still respect you for who you are. It's just that I get a little defensive about my brother."

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow a ship will arrive. With the ship you'll get more information, and then you're encouraged to leave as soon as possible."

"Well," Luke said, "I can leave the Academy for a few days." He turned to Han. "So what do ya say, Han? Feel like going on a little diplomatic mission for the New Republic?"

"You don't understand," Han said. "My decision has already been made by someone else." Luke nodded and made a mental note not to get married any time soon.

Leia ignored Han's comment and continued her speech. "The nearby system that Hastrin identified as containing Imperial activity, is the Danzig system. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that system. It contains about four hundred small stars. One of the stars in particular has gained the attention of our astronomers back on Coruscant. Danzig 359 has, over the past seventy-five years, gotten dimmer and dimmer. At first we thought that a nebula or some kind of cloud might be covering the star. But now that we have confirmation of Imperial activity in that system we are more concerned."

"Another Sun Crusher," Luke said, referring to an Imperial weapon that could cause a star to collapse on itself to the point of a supernova.

Leia nodded. "It's possible that seventy-five years ago they tested the device on Danzig 359. It apparently worked but it took way too long. We've seen the Sun Crusher work before. It causes a nova in a matter of hours. If they've reopened their base in the Danzig system then they could be building more super nova weapons. So along with your going to Hastrin, we are sending a small fleet to inspect the Danzig system. We can only hope that the Imperials haven't started to build weapons of massive destruction again."

"Yes," Luke agreed, "we can only hope."

***

Tenel Ka sat cross-legged on her bed. Her eyes were closed. She was meditating, something that she didn't due very often. She didn't like to use the Force. She felt that it was a crutch. She preferred to use her own physical strength. In the past year, however, Master Skywalker had been able to make an impression on her. She no longer thought of the Force as a vice for the weak, but she now saw it as a tool for the strong. She still only used the Force when she needed it, and she was the only student who had came of age, that made it clear that she didn't want to carry a lightsaber.

Feeling more relaxed, Tenel Ka opened her eyes. She knew that her mother, the Queen Mother of the Hapes cluster, was coming to Yavin IV today and she wanted to be ready. She had just told her friends that she would be leaving to live in Hapes where she would be taught how to be a Princess. She wasn't proud of the fact that she was a member of the Hapan royal family. In the female dominant society of the Hapes cluster a domineering cruel type of leadership that was often a reflection of a ruthless dictator had always characterized the Queen Mother's reign. But her mother had been different. Her mother, Teneniel Djo, was not from the Hapes cluster but was formerly one of the witches of Dathomir. She married her father, Prince Isolder, who was the only descendant of Tenel Ka's grandmother, the former Queen. Her father was originally supposed to marry Princess Leia but Leia had had her heart set on Han. Her father had found more than a suitable wife in her mother.

Tenel Ka got up from her bed and moved out of her room to the outdoors. Her parents were coming now. She could feel her mother through the Force. She moved out to the landing field to find that Han and Leia, the twins, Lowbacca and Chewie, and Master Skywalker were already there waiting. Seeing Leia reminded her that the President of the New Republic was going to Hapes with her to visit. Tenel Ka walked over to stand next to Master Skywalker.

Luke looked down at her. "Are you ready to bring your parents in."

Tenel Ka nodded and closed her eyes. She reached out with her mind and felt the shuttle as it came down through the upper atmosphere. At first she felt it weigh a ton, but after she managed to look past the weight and merely view the ship the same as a simple rock, the weight disappeared and, with Luke's help, she was able to bring the shuttle down for a very smooth landing.

The hatch opened and two red suited guards marched down the ramp. They took a quick look around before placing themselves on opposite sides of the bottom of the ramp. King Isolder and Queen Djo descended in all of their royal splendor. They weren't wearing their most royal robes, but they didn't lack any beauty because of it. Leia inhaled sharply when she saw Isolder. In twenty-three years, he had lost none of his handsome charm. Then she blushed realizing that she was standing next to Han. "Having second thoughts Princess," Han whispered. He was about to lay on some more guilt when his eyes caught those of Teneniel. He had first looked at Isolder to see his reaction to Leia and wasn't disappointed. But now he saw that Teneniel had managed to keep her rugged beauty while being adorned with the jewels and clothes of Hapes. A sharp elbow from Leia brought him out of his trance, yet in greeting, Han walked up to Teneniel and kissed her extended hand, showing more class than Leia had ever seen. She felt left out until Isolder, not to be out done by his former rival, bestowed the same grace toward Leia.

The four of them stared into each other's eyes until Luke broke it up. "Hey," he said, "let's remember who married whom." This brought a laugh from the group and they continued their greeting without further incident. Tenel Ka greeted her parents formally, and Jacen, Jaina, Chewie, and Lowbacca tried their best not to look out of place.

The Hapans had not planned on staying long and what had been long 'hello's turned into quick 'good-bye's. Chewie and the droids left with Leia, leaving Han, Luke, the twins, and Lowbacca to say good-bye to the departing ships. Han looked mournfully at the red glare of the Falcon's thrusters, wishing that he and Luke could have taken his ship on their mission, but Leia had been quite insistent that they take an official New Republic shuttle. She said that the Hastrins wouldn't think very much of the New Republic's fleet strength if Han and Luke arrived in the Flacon, a ship that looked like it couldn't survive a head on collision with a gas nebula. Those had been her exact words: "Couldn't survive a head on collision with a gas nebula." Sometimes . . ., Han thought but left it at that.

After the ships had left the atmosphere and there was nothing left to see, the small party looked at each other as if suspecting something more to happen. The twins and Lowbacca had lost a friend, and they didn't know when they'd see her again. Actually the twins and Lowbacca had graduated and like Tenel Ka, could go anywhere they wanted, but they seemed hesitant to leave the comfort of the forest moon. Jacen finally initiated conversation by turning to Luke. "You and Dad are going to leave tomorrow, right?" Luke nodded in confirmation. "Then what are we going to do?"

"That is up to you to decide," Luke said, his voice changing from the voice of their uncle and father's friend to that of a Jedi Master. "Your training is done. You don't know everything about the Force, but then I don't either. A Jedi is constantly learning. You need to pick something to do that will allow you to continue your learning process."

Jaina smiled. "We could try to make our brother build a lightsaber. That could be a learning experience."

"Actually, I've sent Lando off on that task. He should be talking to Anakin right now."

Han looked incredulous. "Lando is going to teach my son how to build a lightsaber?"

Luke laughed. "Now that would be a learning experience. No Lando is just going to get him started."

***

Anakin was busy reading some Jedi lore that was assigned to him when he heard a knock on his door. "It's not locked," he said without looking up from his data pad. When he finished the paragraph he was on he looked up to see Lando standing in the doorway. "Oh I'm sorry Lando," he said. He had learned along time ago that he could call any of his father's friends by their first name. "Come in."

Lando stepped into the room and looked around, expecting this room to look like an average teenager's room. It was nothing close to average, and well, neither was the person who lived in it. The room was spotless, much cleaner than Luke's had been. There was a lot of exotic furniture stuffed into the room and Lando had no problem finding a place to sit. Anakin was reading in a hammock that was strung up over his bed, a bed that Lando could tell never got used. Anakin dropped the data pad onto the bed beneath him, and he swung his legs down so they were hanging off the hammock and he was sitting upright, leaning slightly against the wall. "What do you want?" Anakin liked Lando.

"You know your mom just left for the Hapes cluster," Lando said, avoiding Anakin's question.

"Yea, I know. I saw her when she landed."

Lando looked around the room, noting all of the little trinkets and small statues. "I like what you've done with the place. Are all of these things yours?"

"Yea. Hey, I gotta show you something." Anakin hopped down from his hammock and ran over to one of his many shelves. He grabbed a globe that had a black rectangular base. It looked like it was filled with water, and had an inch of undissolved colored powder at the base of the globe. Anakin raced back to Lando and held the globe up in front of Lando's face. "Watch." As he spoke, Lando saw the powder at the base of the globe begin to swirl. The many different colors of the powder began to make a dazzling rainbow display. Lando looked at Anakin and could tell that he was concentrating, but unlike other Jedi, he didn't have his eyes closed. Lando looked back to the globe and saw that the powder that was swirling in the center of the globe was starting to take shape. Almost magically the picture of a space ship appeared.

Lando gasped. "It's the Lady Luck." The 3D image that floated in the globe was undeniably Lando's pride and joy.

"Wait, let me add some special effects." The remaining powder in the bottom of the globe began to swirl again and it formed treetops at the base of the globe and a bright sun shining away at the top. It now looked like the Lady Luck was skimming over the treetops of Yavin IV. Lando was speechless. The image was so clear that if he hadn't seen Anakin create it he would have sworn that it was a model floating in the globe. Lando didn't say anything, but Anakin could sense his question.

"It's not really water. It's a thick supersaturated jelly that the powder won't dissolve into. The globe has small electrodes in it, so when I want to shape something all I have to do is touch this switch at the base of the globe, and the jelly heats up, making it easier for the powder to move. I made the globe myself. Another cool thing about it is that I can save a picture. Each particle of powder is static charged and each color has its own signature so that the globe can remember where each piece of powder is. I'll show you."

Anakin pressed a few different buttons on the base of the globe and then watched the particles swirl. "I did this one for history class." Pretty soon Lando could discern the image of the Millennium Falcon and the second Death Star. The image on these pictures were much sharper than the Lady Luck had been and Lando realized that Anakin had concentrated harder when he had made these. "That's not all," Anakin said. He pressed another button and the Falcon started to move toward the Death Star. It wound its way through the TIE fighters and plunged into the battle station.

Lando was reliving the moment as the Falcon wove its way through the scaffolding on the inside of the Death Star, until it came to the power source. With a few quick shots at the main reactor, the Falcon retreated, just escaping the giant fireball. "I wasn't there of course," Anakin said when the movie was finished, "but that's what I gathered from my data pad and a little imagination.

Lando knew that they had written history when they had defeated the Empire at Endor, but he didn't think that people would already be studying it. "It's very nice," Lando said not being able to find the right words.

"Do you want it?"

Lando was shocked. "I couldn't," he started.

Anakin shook his head. "I have three of them and I could build another one in a couple days. In fact," he pointed toward the corner of his room where a glass bowl almost a meter across was laying, "I'm working on a really big one."

"Thank-you," was all Lando could muster, then he realized why he was here. "I have a gift for you too, actually. I understand you haven't built a lightsaber yet."

Anakin frowned slightly. "Did my uncle send you? I told him I wasn't ready yet. I just don't feel it inside."

Lando put the globe on the chair he had been sitting on and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a medium sized crystal and held it up in front of Anakin so the light from the window could shine through it. Anakin's jaw dropped to the floor. "It's," he started, "it's," he tried again, "it's so beautiful." Its beauty wasn't the only thing entrancing Anakin. He could see the massive power inside the crystal. The light inside grew in intensity as it reflected off the inner walls of the crystal thousands of times before exiting. "It's so much more expensive than my globe."

It was Lando's turn to shake his head. "I'm not trying to pay for the globe. This is a gift. Consider it eighteen years worth of birthday presents wrapped into one. Besides, I have an asteroid full of these things. Most of them much bigger."

Anakin took the crystal from Lando, and he could feel the warmth inside. "I think I'm starting to feel something. Yep, I'm definitely ready to build one. I always thought that the Force was making me wait. Now I know why. Thank-you very much."

Lando left the room and let the Jedi student be alone. Besides, he wanted to go back to his quarters and play with his globe.

****

Chapter 4 "An old Hope"

Captain Tallon piloted the shuttle into the atmosphere of Hastrin. He and Admiral Thrawn had just finished their tour of the uncompleted Dark Ring. They had only toured one fourth of it, but it was designed in quadrants so that all four of them were identical. Tallon had toured it before but it had been Thrawn's first time. Thrawn had expected there to be more room inside of the Dark Ring than there had been. One quadrant of the battle station was the equivalent of about a thousand worlds the size of Hastrin, but there didn't seem to be near that much room. It is obviously hard to compare sizes when they become that astronomical but Thrawn prided himself in his ability to accurately judge things. All had been made clear when the Salynoids had shown him the weapons systems. It was a definite flaw in the Empire that fifty percent of everything that it made had to be capable of blowing something up. Even if they had made the station one-one hundredth of its present size, there wouldn't be a fleet in the galaxy that could have destroyed it. Now any fleet that attacked would be exposed to anywhere from three Death Star lasers, depending on the size of the fleet, up to ten. Each laser was able to fire once every twenty seconds. In one minute the Dark Ring would be able to decimate a fleet by destroying up to thirty capitol ships. A smaller battle station could have been just as effective.

The shuttle was approaching the mountain range where the Imperial base was located. The headquarters was nestled between two large mountains. A message blinked onto the shuttle's message screen. Tallon glanced at the message briefly and turned to Thrawn. "The Republic has answered our distress call. There is a full report waiting for us at the base." Tallon set the shuttle down on a large flat cliff that was cut out of one of the mountains. Four stormtroopers stood waiting. After they had disembarked from the ship, Tallon waived off the stormtrooper escort, and he and Thrawn made their way to the side of the mountain where a turbo lift shaft had been dug down into the rock. The lift whisked them down several hundred feet to the bowels of the mountain.

They made there way to Tallon's office so they could receive the message. Tallon entered his code, and the message was brought up on his screen. He offered the screen to the Admiral so he could read it first. "Go ahead Captain Tallon," Thrawn said. "I believe I already know what it will say."

Tallon read the message quickly and turned to Thrawn. "It seems as though you were right. They are indeed sending Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. But they are also sending a small fleet to the Danzig system."

Thrawn frowned. "I had considered this possibility, but I did not think that they would do it. It appears that the enemy has gotten soft over the years. It is foolish of them to send a fleet into a potential battle without any information at all. Surely because of what they can see of Danzig 359, they believe us to have another super nova weapon. They should realize that if this were the case, then we would protect such a research project with all we had. A small fleet, as they put it, then seems far too inadequate. I thought that they would have waited for Solo and Skywalker to return before they attempted anything. But since I had considered this possibility, I do have a counter. Tell Oskiman that we are postponing his land invasion, and he is to instead prepare a fleet to meet the foolish fleet of the New Republic. Tell him that he may use as many ships as he wishes but we need ten Interdictor Cruisers, and ten Imperial Star Destroyers to welcome our New Republic diplomats."

"Why do we need so many ships to capture one shuttle?"

"I simply want to be sure of the capture. I've underestimated Skywalker's piloting skills before, and I've heard that Solo is better than he is." Thrawn paused. "Tell Frowinger to get one ton of pure lampium." Thrawn saw Tallon's confused reaction to this last odd request and decided to clarify. "Lampium is one of the densest metals known and has a relatively low fusion point."

"I'm sorry Admiral, but chemistry was my one weakness in the Academy."

Thrawn was impressed with this show of honesty from a high-ranking officer with regard to a weakness, and Tallon moved several notches higher in Thrawn's respect column. "All materials have a fusion point - the point at which the atoms are vibrating so fast and contain so much energy that they can no longer hold their molecular bonds together. Normally the fusion point is never reached because before the material can achieve the required temperature, it evaporates, allowing all of the molecules to dissipate, and thus reducing the pressure and, therefore, eliminating the possibility of attaining the necessary temperature. However, the Empire has conducted a series of tests in the past showing that a strong enough tractor beam can keep all of the molecules together, thus preventing depressurization due to evaporation."

Tallon nodded at this point to show that he was following. He did not feel stupid. He enjoyed learning new things and who better to learn from than the master of strategy, Admiral Thrawn. "When the fusion point is reached," Thrawn continued, "the material vaporizes into all of its molecules. This reaction, or vaporization, is displayed as a terrific explosion. When metals undergo a fusion reaction, the explosion is an incredibly bright flash, due to metals' conductive ability. Lampium is interesting because it is so dense and the molecular bonds are strong enough that during a fusion reaction of Lampium, it is not uncommon for the molecules to rip their respective atoms apart. When this occurs, it increases the size of the explosion one hundred fold."

Tallon took all of this in. "Wouldn't conventional weapons be more effective?"

"Perhaps," Thrawn admitted, "But this will put on a much better display for the people back on Coruscant." Thrawn paused to change subjects. "When are Solo and Skywalker supposed to arrive?"

"Eight days, sir."

"That gives us plenty of time. I'm sure you will inform Oskiman of all the details. I'll explain the particular use of the lampium when the time comes. Also make sure that the Dark Ring's cloaking device is fully operational." With that Thrawn strode from the room and let Tallon go about his work.

***

It was early morning and the sun was just appearing over the treetops of Yavin IV. Lando and Lobot were loading the Lady Luck with all of his personal belongings, plus trying to find room for Yova and Trince's stuff. All packed and done with their good-byes, the four crystal diggers boarded the Lady Luck and after a quick preflight check took off into the sky. Once the ship had cleared the atmosphere, the hyperspace jump had been calculated, entered, and executed, Lando spun his chair around to evaluate the two Jedi he had "acquired" from the Academy.

He looked them both over and then spoke. "Your Yova," he said pointing to the short stout girl, "and your Trince," he pointed to the sandy haired boy. Lando couldn't help thinking that Trince looked like a cross between Han and Luke. He was thin, sandy haired, and Force strong, yet he was at the same time independent, rugged, and Corellian. Yova on the other hand was like no one he had ever seen before. Her face was pretty, and her hair was brown, long, and braided. She was about five feet tall and just a little on the round side. "So other than your names, can you tell me anything about yourself." Silence. "Okay, I'll start. My name is Lando Calarisian. I'm from nowhere and everywhere. I was formerly a general in the New Republic, but now I just move from job to job trying to make a living." Still silence. Great, thought Lando, Luke gave me a pair of mute students.

"We can talk," Yova corrected his thought, "we were just thinking to ourselves what we should tell you."

"Why not tell me everything?"

"We'd be here for a few days," Trince said bluntly.

"You gave us the sweetened condensed version of your life in three sentences and your fifty-nine years old. I don't quite think that you told us everything," Yova reasoned. Lando agreed with Luke that she was clever.

"You will probably just want to know our special abilities and talents that can help you get your job done," Trince added. "I am more into the physical aspects of the Force and Yova is more into the non-physical, for lack of a better word, aspect of the Force."

Yova jumped in. "I seem to have a better sense of precognition. I can tell if danger is imminent, or if a certain action is likely to be proven successful. I also do very well with mind tricks and the like but I doubt that that would come in handy in a mine."

Trince continued with his bio. "I enjoy the use of the Force in work. Though anyone strong in the Force can lift a rock, I've found that through practice, I can lift countless objects and command them to do a variety of tasks at the same time. I am also highly skilled in levitation, endurance, and fighting. We are both good with a lightsaber, I was fourth in the Academy with a lightsaber behind the three Solos." Lando thought he heard a little animosity in Trince's voice when he mentioned Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin.

"There is no animosity between us," Yova said, proving the afore mentioned mind skills. "It's an inside joke." Lando would have to be careful what he thought around this one. "Yes you will," Yova said with a laugh.

***

Tenel Ka walked out of her quarters and looked out the window and saw the lines of hyperspace whiz by. The shuttle they had left Yavin IV in had docked inside a Hapan cruiser that had been orbiting the moon, and now they were enrout to Hapes. Leia had said that she was sick of flying in the Falcon and let Chewie fly it with the droids. She realized that upon arrival at Hapes, she would probably find that Chewie had dismantled Threepio half way through the trip, but she was willing to take that chance for a little luxury.

Tenel Ka walked into the lounge area of the cruiser and found Leia sitting across the table from Isolder. The two of them were engrossed in a game of Flamtok, an ancient Hapan strategy game. The game took years to master and Tenel Ka knew that Isolder had spent some time with it and was pretty good. So she was surprised that Leia, who couldn't have seen the game before, was winning. Tenel Ka also realized that though the game was difficult for newcomers to do well at, it helped if you could read your opponent's mind.

Tenel Ka reached out to Isolder's mind just to make sure. Every move that Isolder thought of, Leia managed to counter, often before he even played it. Isolder must have caught on to what Leia was doing because Tenel Ka found that he started to think of ridiculous moves. Leia, who knew no better, would counter them, and then Isolder would make a totally different move. Leia managed to hold her own for a little while because in order to fool Leia, Isolder couldn't think about his actual move for very long. In the end Isloder won, and Leia congratulated him on a good game. Tenel Ka thought that she was congratulating him more for defeating her mind trick then defeating a novice in a difficult game.

Leia stood and stretched. It was time for a nap. Leia noticed Tenel Ka standing there and thought that she wanted to ask Leia a question. "Why do you carry a lightsaber?" Tenel Ka asked looking at the pearl handled weapon hanging on Lea's hip.

"I was thinking of asking you the same question in reverse," Leia commented and motioned toward Tenel Ka's empty belt.

"The New Republic is supposed to promote peace," Tenel Ka continued ignoring Lea's comment, "but doesn't carrying a weapon create war?"

Leia detached her lightsaber from her belt and held it up to contemplate its role. She thought of it more as jewelry than anything else. The white handle with the inlaid pearls was very beautiful, but Leas also understood where Tenel Ka was coming from. If it was used the wrong way, it could prove to be deadly.

"You'll have to agree with me that a lightsaber is different from any other type of weapon because only one kind of people use them. This weapon symbolizes a Jedi and all that he or she stands for. Right now when most people think of Jedi, they think of the clone wars and of my brother fighting against the Empire. But there was a time before all of this when people thought of Jedi as peacekeepers. A Jedi was someone who would keep them safe from the evils that surrounded them.

"My grandfather used to tell me stories of how when he was a little boy and he couldn't get to sleep at night because of nightmares, my great-grandmother would tell him that nothing would harm him as long as the Jedi were around. My grandfather used to say that that was all he needed to hear in order to have a goodnight's sleep. Right now Luke is trying to rebuild that image, but in order for him to do that we have to first drive away the evil, so we can have a galaxy to protect. Until the Empire is truly defeated, we can only hope that someday the Jedi will once again be able to put little boys and girls to sleep by calming their fears. And it's with that same hope that I wear this lightsaber." Leia re-attached the weapon to her belt. She left Tenel Ka to think about her words, while she went to take her nap.

***

Han watched as the two ships descended. Luke controlled one but told Han that the other had not put on its autopilot. The ship that Luke controlled was a large diplomatic shuttle named the New Hope. The other ship was a small Planet Hopper about half the size of the Falcon. The diplomatic shuttle was just nestling smoothly onto the ground, when the Planet Hopper lurched violently. Luke almost let go of the shuttle to help the Hopper, but caught the diplomatic ship before it crashed down. The top rear thrusters and rear repulser lifts of the Hopper ignited, causing the front of the ship to pitch sharply downward. The Hopper flipped totally over and just before it crashed into the ground, the front repulsers fired on, straightening the front of the ship, and allowing the ship to set down almost as gently as Luke had set down the shuttle.

"They should give him a medal for skill, and then take him off somewhere and shoot him so he won't kill anyone," Han said after both ships had deactivated.

"From the way I'm sensing the pilot's emotions he's disappointed. Probably meaning that he didn't feel that he did the flip very well," Luke said in reply.

"Which means he lands like that all the time. I'll shoot him right now."

The hatch to the Hopper opened first and a very tall youth leaped out. He was a little over two meters tall, had brown unkempt hair, and was wearing a flight jacket with the picture of a bat emblazoned across the front. "Jon, Jon Poncho's my name and flying's my game."

"I'm Solo, which is how you'll fly if any potential passengers ever see you land, and this is Skywalker, which is what kind of pilot you are if that landing was no fluke," Han said, appraising his flying style.

Jon shook Han's hand vigorously, "Pleased to meet you General. I've read a lot about you." He turned to Luke. "A real Jedi Master, awesome. Can you levitate me off the ground?"

"I'm sorry," Luke said, "you didn't put any money in the box."

Jon looked down at the ground for a box, and noticed that he was floating off the ground. "Hey, I'm flying!" Luke made him do a complete flip and landed him on his feet. Off balanced, Jon tumbled to the ground and fell hard on his seat.

"I like the first landing better," Han said. "Don't you?"

"Oh, yes," Luke agreed. "You'd think it would be easier to land that maneuver on your feet than on a ship's tri-pilons."

"Life's full of surprise," Han concluded.

The bothers-in-law walked toward the New Hope, leaving Jon to scramble to his feet and wipe the dust off his butt. The pilot of the shuttle was now making his way down the ramp. Luke recognized his old friend. "Wedge, what are you up to these days?"

"Ah, they still got me stuck in a go-nowhere job in the military," Wedge said. "Look at me. They got me running errands for the diplomats."

"Shut up Wedge," Han said. He turned to Luke. "He's recently been promoted to Admiral."

"Admiral Antilles," Luke said, testing the name.

"It's only because you and Ackbar retired. They would have promoted you," Wedge said to Han.

"I can't help it if I know when to quit."

"Shouldn't you be with the fleet that's going to the Danzig system?"

"No, they don't use us precious Admirals on scouting missions."

"Man, I can't believe they left us out of that mission," Jon walked up behind Han and Luke, throwing in his credit's worth into the conversation.

"Who's your crazy pilot companion?" Han asked.

"This piece of work is Jon Poncho, member of the 185th squadron, and the best pilot in the New Republic."

"I shouldn't have retired," Han said.

"You would have lost the top spot," Jon cut in, "to me."

Han looked up at the tall pilot. He contemplated asking Luke if he could use his E-wing that was kept on Yavin IV to teach this cocky pilot a lesson or two. Then he remembered the landing, and he wondered who would do the teaching. But he couldn't let Jon's claim go unanswered. "I could fly you into the ground, and then I'd let Luke finish you off," Han claimed, not forgetting Luke's skill as a pilot.

Luke examined Jon's height. "What do you fly. You wouldn't fit in any X-wing or E-wing that I know of."

"The 185th is composed of three custom made W-wings. And we're the smallest and the best squadron in the fleet."

"At only three ships, your kills wouldn't be able to compare with other squadrons," Luke observed.

"Actually," Wedge corrected, "they're number one."

Han spoke up. "I've just left the fleet, but I've never heard of a W-wing before. How new is it?"

"There are only the three of them in the fleet," Wedge explained. "The other two members of the squadron, Bep Fritz and Vince Trimpo, are the ones who designed and built them. Bep is a computer genius and Vince is a superb engineer. All three of them are extremely tall; Jon is the shortest. Because of their height, each W-wing was custom made, so we don't have a universal blue print yet. Also we haven't mass-produced them yet because it takes an extremely good pilot to fly one. The ship itself, looks a lot like a 'W.' It's kind of like an X-wing with it's foils down. The cockpit is in the middle with the wings sweeping back and then forward on either side. The thing that makes it the best ship in the fleet is the fact that it has twin engines in the back, one on each point of the 'W,' that are independent, giving it a zero turning radius with an incredible amount of maneuverability."

"The weapons system that Bep programmed is incredible to," Jon pointed out. "And since the guns are positioned directly opposite the engines, you can steal power from the engines without having to go through the main power cell."

"How long can you stay?" Luke asked, changing subject abruptly and wanting to catch up on old times.

"I'm supposed to drop off this ship and then head directly back. I have to be there when Captain Biggs sends his report back on his findings in the Danzig system."

"Biggs is a captain already?" Luke asked. "His dad would have been proud."

"Well Ackbar will have my hide if I don't get back, so I got to go."

"How is that old fish doing?" Luke asked. Boy, he sure was out of the loop out here. He made a mental note to visit Coruscant when he and Han got back.

"His health's not the same it used to be. He's just a military adviser now, but he's just as feisty. Like a fish out of water."

They said a final good-bye, Wedge and Jon got on the Hopper, and within a few minutes, Han and Luke were alone standing in front of the New Hope. "It's been busy around here lately," Luke said. He hadn't realized how few ships ever visited his Academy until five ships visited in two days.

"How's the Academy going to hold up with you gone?" Han asked.

"I can leave Streen and Tionne in charge."

Han let out a deep sigh. "Well this mission isn't going to go away all by itself, so I guess we better get it over with. I still have all my stuff in a pile in my room, so I'm ready to go."

"How long is this trip in hyperspace?" Luke asked, wondering how much he should pack.

"About a week."

"That's not too long."

"Maybe not for you. You can just put yourself in a meditation for the whole trip, and it won't seem any longer than a short nap, but I've actually got to be conscious the whole time."

"I could put you in a trance," Luke offered.

"No, that's okay, I've got a lot of reading I have to do. Leia wants me to address a bunch of school kids a week after we get back."

"Are you going on a lecture tour or something?" Luke chided him.

"No, I'm not. The schools on Coruscant are going through a program where they explain to all of the little kiddies all of the many choices for careers in our galaxy. The program is called COFOC, Career Opportunities for Our Children. They present all of the careers in either a positive or a negative light, depending on how the New Republic views each career. I'm supposed to portray the life of a smuggler in a negative light. I've down-loaded the Falcon's log onto a data pad, so now I have to read it and try to remember what I actually did. It was almost thirty years ago, my memory isn't what it used to be."

"Look on the bright side, Han," Luke said. "You'll be talking to a whole generation of kids who've never heard how fast you can do the Kessel run."

"Very funny."

"The tittle of your speech can be called: 'Never Cross a Hut.'"

"Har, har. I think you're the worst thing I ever smuggled."

"Part two of your speech can be: "How to Put the Moves on High Ranking Women of Important Governments."

"Yea, well, I hear that the three weeks after my speech, they're studying how to be a fighter pilot, a Jedi Master, and a moister farmer. Gee, it looks like your month is booked." They both laughed and Luke gave up.

Luke went off to pack and to tell Streen and Tionne, the two other teachers at the Academy, that he would be leaving for about three weeks. Han went off to say good-bye to his children. He spent a little extra time with Anakin to make sure Lando hadn't had an adverse affect on him. After seeing the crystal, Han decided that he would visit Lando's mine as soon as he got the chance. Thirty minutes later, with Han and Luke aboard, the New Hope took off from Yavin IV and blasted into hyperspace toward Hastrin.

****

Chapter 5 "Endor"

Anakin really wanted to build his lightsaber, but he realized that he had to finish his reading first. In history class they always covered each battle or event in two ways. First they would lay down the series of events exactly as they had happened. Then they would study what part the Force had played in those events. They were now on the Force related aspects of the Battle of Endor.

Anakin was engrossed in reading about how his uncle managed to turn Darth Vader and defeat the Emperor. Anakin had never visited Endor and he really wanted to see his grandfather's grave. What peaked Anakin's curiosity the most though, was the Dark Side. He had no intentions of studying it like some other wayward students had, but Anakin was curious as to why the Dark Side of the Force was stronger than the Light Side. All of his teachers always told him that they were equal, but Anakin couldn't believe it. If they were equal then why did the Light Side always loose.

He had already studied about Yoda, and how when they went to Dathomir the Dark witches defeated him and other Jedi. He had studied about how all of the Jedi had been hunted down and killed by the Emperor and Darth Vader. He had just read about how helpless Luke had been against the Emperor. Although they had not studied past the Battle of Endor, Anakin had heard all of the stories. The story of how when Luke faced off against the leader of the Dark witches on Dathomir, she had defeated him easily. He knew that it had taken three Force strong people and his father to defeat C'boath. He also knew that when the Academy was just started the mere spirit of Exar Cuun had nearly killed Luke, and it had taken all of the students at the Academy at once to defeat Exar Cuun.

If the Light Side and the Dark Side were equal then why did the Dark Side always seem stronger? Though the Dark Side never won the final battle, the edge was always with the Dark Side. Anakin believed that the reason the Dark Side never won the final battles is because the Force wouldn't let them. In the end good had to win, it was just the way it had to be. Anakin was just concerned because even the victorious army, suffers a few casualties.

It was late and Anakin decided to let this train of thought wait until morning.

***

"Anakin." Anakin sat upright in bed. "Anakin Solo." Anakin could not see the source of the voice. He searched his room with the Force to see if his siblings were playing a trick on him. He found no one. "Anakin." Through his doorway walked a figure. He was encased in a soft glowing light and his body was semi-transparent. The stranger's appearance isn't what startled Anakin most though, it was the fact that this man, or whatever he was, had just walked through his doorway, but the door was still closed. Uncle Luke had told him about the times Ben Kenobi had visited him after he had died, and Anakin knew that a dead Jedi was visiting him.

Anakin searched with the Force, trying to identify his visitor. "Grandfather, is that you."

"Yes, it is me."

"Should I get my-" Anakin started.

"No, let them sleep. I am here to see you. You will become a great Jedi."

Anakin's hopes sank a little. He had thought that his long dead grandfather was visiting him for a special purpose, but he had heard this speech many times before from his uncle. "Yes, I've been told that someday-"

"That someday is very soon, my grandson," the older Anakin interrupted. "You are asking all of the right questions, but are frustrated that you are not getting the right answers."

"What is the right answer? Which is stronger, the Light or the Dark?"

"You will find that what my son has been teaching you is correct, they are both equal."

"But why-"

"You are at the same position I was many years ago. I was confronted with the same question. I came to the conclusion that the Dark Side was stronger. I had no intention of practicing the Dark Side, like you, but since I believed that the Dark Side was stronger, when Palpatine came to me I fell away quickly and easily. It is important that you discover the truth."

"Can you tell me?"

"You must find it on you own. You must go to Endor. Your teachers will say no, and so will your brother and sister, so I would not tell them. You are the strongest person in the Force in many centuries. You will have some very big responsibilities in the future. So it is very important that you find this truth. You must be careful however. The Force echoes of the fight that took place there twenty-seven years ago between your uncle, the Emperor, and myself are still strong, and you must be sure not to let the Emperor's spirit over come you."

"Will you help me?"

"I cannot help you. I have saved up my energy for many years so I could project myself to you, knowing that this time would come, and now I feel my strength fading." The elder's image to was starting to fade and flicker a little. "May the Force be with you young Anakin," he said, and his image evaporated.

For some odd reason Anakin couldn't get any sleep that night.

***

The next day Anakin was all fidgety in his classes. He knew that he had to wait until nighttime. There was only one ship at the Academy - Luke's E-wing. Anakin had never flown it before, but he knew that he could. He had had a magical touch ever since he was a kid and he had operated a planetary repulser that had baffled the best New Republic computer scientists. Jacen had noticed Anakin's odd behavior and his uncharacteristic energy. He was suspicious about his younger brother and went to talk to him.

The door was locked and Anakin wouldn't answer Jacen's knocks. It would take a lot more than a locked door to keep Jacen out, however. A quick prodding of the locking mechanism with the Force proved successful, and the door swung open. "The door was locked for a reason Jacen," Anakin said without looking up from his work.

Jacen walked in anyway to see what his brother was working on. Anakin was finishing his large picture globe. Jacen had seen the globes before; in fact Anakin had made Jaina and him one for their birthday. "You've seemed awful anxious today," Jacen commented. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Anakin still had not looked up from his work. Anakin didn't want Jacen to see the strain on his face from keeping up the mind block. Anakin knew that he was stronger, but just like in the lightsaber battle, Jacen had more training. "Now could you please leave. I'm busy."

Jacen realized that Anakin was hiding something from him, and he couldn't break through his mind block. If it was really important, Jacen was sure that he would eventually find out. Besides, he could try tomorrow with Jaina. No matter how strong Anakin was, there was no way that he could keep out both of them.

When Jacen had left, Anakin mentally relocked the door and hoped for no more interruptions. He was going to leave tonight and it was getting late. He was almost finished with the picture globe. He would have to leave a note telling everyone where he went. They wouldn't be able to follow him. He would be taking the only ship off of the moon, and if they called Coruscant, the soonest they could get another ship would be a few days.

When night fell, Anakin gathered up a few things to put in his pack. He packed some food, a few extra sets of clothes, and all of the equipment he'd gathered for building his lightsaber. He walked over to the window and climbed out. He didn't want to leave through his door, because he would have had to walk past his sister and brother's room, and he was afraid they would notice him. He jumped out of the window and floated gently to the ground. He crept off toward the hanger where his Uncle kept the E-wing, glad that it was in the opposite direction of the rest of the dormitories.

It would have been tough to sneak past Jaina and Jacen's rooms, but to have to sneak past Streen's or Tionne's, would have been impossible. Anakin knew that there was a guard on duty. He had looked at the schedule and saw that it was a first year student. Anakin knew from experience that the student guards were always tired. When Anakin came to the guard post, he reached out carefully to touch the student's mind. He found that he was already asleep, Anakin smiled to himself and wondered if his grandfather was helping him. Anakin concentrated a little harder, sending the student into a deep sleep that he wouldn't wake from until someone roused him.

The hanger was a hundred yards from the guardhouse, and Anakin covered the distance quickly. Once inside, Anakin removed the large cloth covering the ship. Instantly the astromech droid came to life. "Shhhhh!" Anakin half yelled. Anakin had met the droid before when he had been sneaking around the hangar a couple of months ago. His Uncle had caught him then and introduced Anakin to the droid. R7-T1 was kept in stand by until Luke needed to use his ship. R7-T1 immediately recognized that Anakin was not Luke and refused to obey him.

Although Anakin was good with computers, he didn't know any Jedi mind tricks he could use to get one to calm down. He did, however, know the purpose of an astromech droid in a space ship such as this one, and he was sure that he could get by without R7-T1's help. He climbed into the cockpit and did a quick pre-flight check. This pre-flight check was different than any he had done before. Instead of checking to make sure everything was working properly, Anakin had to find out what everything did. His hands flowed over the control panel and over all of the switches. As he passed over each control, he instinctively knew what they did. After he was confident he understood what he was doing, he mentally checked that R7-T1, who was still beeping away, was secure.

Anakin began to sweat. He knew that as soon as he started the engine he would have precious little time to get away. The noise, if not the massive ripple in the Force, would wake Streen and Tionne and probably others. Anakin also knew that together, they might be able to keep him from leaving. Anakin swallowed his fears, remembering that his grandfather had told him to do this, and for that reason alone, he was sure he would succeed.

He started the engine and quickly activated the repulser lifts. Something wasn't working. The ship wasn't rising. His hands flew over all the switches, mentally rechecking each of their functions. Confident he wasn't making a mechanical error he looked out of the cockpit at the floor and saw that the ship was tied down with steel cables. He closed his eyes and concentrated all of his mental strength together and pitted it against the strength of the cables. The cables were no match, and soon the E-wing was floating two meters off the ground. He pulled the throttle back and eased the nose of the ship up as he shot out of the hanger, breaking the tranquillity of the night. Anakin was overwhelmed by the terrific speed available to him, and he spared none of it. As he shot through the atmosphere. He prepared the ship for the hyperspace jump.

Anakin knew ahead of time that there wouldn't be time to wait the thirty seconds to a minute that it would take to calculate the jump. Anakin also, however, had studied the star charts of the systems between Yavin IV and Endor. He had a photographic memory, and using the Force in a way that it had never been used before, except by Anakin, he mentally calculated the jump, entered it into the flight computer, and disappeared into hyperspace.

***

Streen got up from bed and moved to his window. He watched as the red light of the E-wing's engines disappeared into space. He reached out to the pilot to confirm his guess on his identity, but the ship was gone into hyperspace. He had noticed Anakin acting a little strange, and now this pre-calculated jump proved to him that it was Master Skywalker's nephew. There were no computers at the Academy capable of calculating a hyperspace jump. There had never been the need. Streen knew of only one person capable of the mental calculation. He grabbed a robe and moved out into the hallway.

Tionne was just leaving her room. "Anakin."

"I know," Streen replied. "Go back to bed. I will check it out. He walked down the long hallway and up to the third floor where the Solos' rooms were. He passed Jaina and Jacen's rooms and mentally told them to go back to sleep.

The door to Anakin's room was locked, and for the second time that day it was picked with the Force. Sitting in the middle of Anakin's bed was his finished picture globe. In it was a picture of Endor.

***

The Lady Luck dropped out of hyperspace a few hundred kilometers away from the asteroid. Trince looked out of the window at the hunk of rock where he and Yova would be working for a few days. It was big enough to call a moon, except that it didn't orbit around a planet. This system was void of planets. The lone star was a small one, and it had a belt of similar asteroids and meteorites closer in orbit than this lone asteroid. Lando theorized that long ago a comet had streaked into this system and collided with one of the asteroids in the belt, knocking it out into a more distant orbit.

Yova, more knowledgeable of the behavior of rocks, said that it was more likely that the comet had been crushed in between two asteroids. The momentum of the comet had then carried the satellite into a greater orbital pattern. However it had happened, Lando was only concerned with the remains of the crystallized comet.

They approached the air shield, and Trince could make out some structures on the surface of the asteroid. He could see two large oxygen generators, some large digging equipment, a communications tower, the mouth of a cave, and some other shacks that could be for housing. After passing through the air shield, they landed and disembarked.

The visible population of the mine seemed minuscule. Other than themselves, Lobot, and Lando, and the two Jedi could only see three people coming out to meet them, and they could sense another two people inside. Lando walked ahead to greet the three miners and then came back to introduce them to Yova and Trince.

"Yova and Trince meet Dexter, Jim, and Mansenchin," Lando introduced them. "Dexter is our geologist, Jim is our mechanic, and Mansenchin is just here for the manual labor aspect of the job, though he is a pretty good cook.

The two Jedi shook hands with the three men and mentally sized them up. Mansenchin was the most physically imposing of the three, standing half a head under two meters and weighing close to 100 kilograms. Jim was a bit on the thin side and wore glasses, not a common practice. There were many medical procedures that could eliminate the need for such a bothersome piece of attire. Dexter was a handsome dark-skinned man who looked a lot like Lando. Trince thought about asking if they were related but decided to pass on the question.

"Are you the only female here?" Trince asked Yova mentally.

"No," she replied in the same telepathic manner. "I sense another woman inside one of those buildings."

Lando turned back to the students. "I'll take you inside and you can meet Jalence and Herta."

Lando moved toward the communication tower. The Jedi followed him and they entered a small building at the base of the tower. Inside two people were hunkered over a panel of about fifty different switches. "Herta and Jalence are married and they are our communications and computer specialists. Herta turned away from her job and smiled at the Jedi.

With introductions out of the way, Lando thought that he should show Trince and Yova the mining sight. The Jedi agreed, and they started toward the mouth of a cave Trince had seen when they landed. There was a small wooden shed at the entrance to the cave, and Lando disappeared inside briefly. He emerged carrying three flashlights.

"What do we need those for?" Trince asked.

"So you can see what the problems are down there," Lando replied as if it were obvious.

"If the problems were visible to the eye, then you wouldn't need us, would you?" Yova reasoned, but she took a flashlight for Lando's sake.

Trince still refused, but he unhooked his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it. The three of them of them moved ahead into the cave, Trince and Yova walking side by side at point, with Lando pulling up the rear.

They walked at a steady pace for about ten minutes when Yova pulled up suddenly. Lando had been pointing his flashlight in the other direction and almost ran into the short Strotton. "What is it?" Lando asked excitedly.

A pause. "We don't know," said Trince. "The flashlights won't tell us."

Another pause. "We will come back here later." Yova brushed some of her hair away from her face. She was straining as if to hear a quiet sound. "I do sense something, though. A signal."

"A signal?" Lando asked. "From what to whom?"

"From here," Trince said, finding the signal too. "To anywhere."

Yova blinked her self out of her trance. "It is some sort of radio beacon. Your people should try to find it on their instruments. They should probably record it and try to discern some kind of repetitive pattern."

Trince who was still sensing it spoke up. "It definitely repeats itself."

Lando was confused. "What is it for?"

Trince broke himself away from his trance and turned to face Lando. "Who ever set up these traps, has them sending a signal. When the signal stops, the Empire knows that someone has either broken in, or brought the mine down. Either way it will tell the Empire that we are here, and if there is important enough information down there for them to set up these kind of traps, then they'll come running."

Lando understood now. "But if we record the signal, jam this signal, and loop the recording, then the Empire will never know that we're here."

"Yea," Yova agreed, "something like that."

"I'll have my people start on it as soon as we get back."

With that, the troop turned around and headed back to the surface.

****

Chapter 6 "A Need for Concern"

The Hapan shuttle descended smoothly from the sky and came to rest gently on the concrete landing pad. A large group of citizens were crowded around the landing area, and were held back by velvet ropes. Several of the Hapan dignitaries were present. When the King and Queen of the Hapes government descended from the ship, everyone became silent and went to their knees. Next out came Leia, and she was also greeted with great respect. None, though, got the respect that Tenel Ka received as she exited the ship. Streamers flew into the air and shouts of "The princess has come back home to stay" rang out from everyone present. One of the dignitaries carried a beautiful robe and put it on Tenel Ka. Afterwards he took a knee in front of her, keeping his eyes averted from her face. Tenel Ka granted him pardon, and he rose and walked behind Tenel Ka as she moved through the procession.

The entire display was one of wealth, with gifts being distributed freely to all of the arrivals. Anyone who was watching couldn't help feel a sense of awe at the whole display, almost anyone that is. On the hillside next to the landing site someone watched the entire display impassively. If someone had seen her there they would have noticed something unusual about her eyes. As they focused on the party two hundred meters away, they made a slight whirring noise. And if anyone could have looked through those eyes they would have noticed immediately that they were no ordinary eyes. The micro-binocular effect of the eyes allowed the impassive observer to count the number of eyelashes on each of the people below. Also if anyone had seen her they would not help but notice that the observer looked remarkably like one of those people below. In fact that person would undoubtably confuse the two people.

Unfortunately for the observer someone had seen her. From further up the hill a man called out. "Hey, you! You can't be here." The guard hopped down the slope of the steep hill to the still unmoving trespasser. With the arrival of Princess Tenel Ka, security was tight, and they couldn't afford any terrorism. As the guard stood directly over the unknown person, she turned to face him. "Uh, I'm sorry Princess Leia, " he stuttered. "I thought you were down there with," his eyes looked down toward the procession. That was all she was waiting for. With one quick motion the human replica droid's hand shot up and broke the unsuspecting guard's neck before he even knew he was in danger. The HRD hid the body in the grass.

Laya was pleased that the guard had been so completely fooled by her appearance. She was told that Dr. Kendel was good; now she knew how good. The transmitter on the guard's belt chirped. "Number #2, report. Have you confronted the trespasser yet?"

Laya reached for the transmitter. "Negative sir," Laya replied in a perfect mimic of the guard's voice. "I was mistaken. There is no trespasser here."

"Then what did you see?"

Laya glanced around and saw a fox scamper through the tall grass. "It was a fox, sir."

The voice on the other end seemed to contemplate this for a while. "It must have been a big fox."

"It was sir."

"Okay, but be more careful."

"Sorry sir. It won't happen again." Laya looked at the dead guard's nametag. "Drumand out."

Laya quickly went off after the fox. The fox looked up from the sent it was tracking. It saw Laya coming in fast, but it was too late. One chop to the neck from Laya's powerful arm rendered the fox lifeless. She took the fox back to where the fallen guard lay. Laya ripped apart the fox's jaw and placed the lower and upper halves on opposite sides of Drumand's neck. She pressed them together hard and twisted. She pulled the mangled maw away from Drumand's neck. Huge fang marks were visible and the ripping twist she had made could easily account for the guard's broken neck.

"A very big fox," Laya said to herself. She used some of the fox's blood to messy up the scene a little. Then she went off to hide the fox. After she had buried the remains of the dead animal, she visited a nearby stream to wash off the blood. She paused over the smooth flowing water to examine her reflection. Her face was an identical copy of Lea's. Laya had awoken just a week previous in Dr. Kendel's lab. Admiral Thrawn had been there, and he had given her implicit instructions. Her ship had only arrived yesterday and she had not yet begun her work, but now that her inferior counter part had arrived, the fun could begin.

***

The sun rose to illuminate the Academy, finding that some of its occupants were already awake.

"Where did he go?" Jacen asked anxiously.

Streen had not let anyone else into the room because he didn't want to disturb all of the emotional echoes that remained there. "He went to Endor."

"Endor?!" Jaina screamed. "Uncle Lu-, uh Master Skywalker said never to go there, at least not until we were ready."

"Anakin isn't ready," Jacen pronounced. "He hasn't even built a lightsaber yet."

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge your brother," Streen admonished him.

"Why did he go to Endor?" Jaina asked, her original concern still present.

"I do not know, though I do believe that there is more involved here than the simple whim of a teenage boy. Tionne and I will meditate on it."

"Jaina and I can do it," Jacen claimed.

Streen looked at him, feeling a lesson needed to be taught. "Jacen you have to learn humility. Your are the Academy's best swordsman. You have advanced the furthest in your studies, and are probably the overall most qualified Jedi Knight, but you have to learn that you are not the infallible person you think you are. You are not invincible. I would not care to pit my lightsaber skills against yours, but I fear that someday you will walk into something that you are not ready for. 

"Tionne and I will meditate in Anakin's room and will try to discern his reason for fleeing. If we cannot find it then you will not try. Is that understood?"

Jacen nodded though his over eagerness was not fully quelled.

***

Tionne and Streen walked into Anakin's room, and Streen sealed the room with the Force.

"Do you think that you were a little hard on him?" Tionne asked. 

"No. I think it had to be done, but I'm afraid it won't do any good until he fails. And I am afraid that that failure will come soon." They sat on Anakin's bed with the globe of Endor between them. "When you feel a revelation, say it out loud so the other person can feed off of the observation."

They both closed their eyes and thought of Anakin. Almost immediately Tionne spoke. "He had a vision. Two nights ago."

"Not a vision, but a visitor," Streen corrected. "Concentrate on that visitor."

They sat unmoving for half an hour. "I can only gather that a visitor came through Anakin's emotion, I can feel nothing from the visitor," Tionne said half giving up.

"I agree that the visitor's image comes from Anakin. He has not thought of the visitor's name on purpose so that we could not identify him. Search how Anakin feels about this visitor."

An hour passed. "Love!" screamed Tionne, jolting both of them out of their trance. "He loved his visitor."

"The strongest of all emotions," Streen observed. "If this visitor influenced Anakin's trip, then I do not fear for Anakin's safety."

They got up from the bed and for the first time realized how long they had been meditating. "Why could we not feel the presence of his visitor?" Tionne asked. "Does that mean that his visitor had no Force strength?"

Streen shrugged. "Either no Force strength, or he possessed Force strength great enough to mask his presence. I cannot be sure. I have never encountered that phenomenon before."

The two teachers left the room to be immediately pounced on by the twins.

"He is safe," Streen said, and he walked past them. Tionne said nothing.

***

Jacen and Jaina were walking through the woods. Neither of them spoke but they both knew where their walk would eventually take them. After an hour of plodding they came to a small clearing where a spaceship almost as big as the Millennium Falcon stood. It was shaped a lot like a disk. The back of the disk was flat and covered with thrusters. The front curved around to form a circular disk, but in the exact middle of the front, the cockpit protruded, ruining the smooth curve. There were laser cannons mounted on both sides of the ship and gunnery spots on both the top and bottom of the center of the disk. There were torpedo tubes located underneath and in back of the cockpit.

Upon closer inspection, one could tell that the outside part of the disk looked suspiciously like a collection of TIE fighter and TIE bomber pods cut in half and welded together. Also the top and bottom of the disk resembled an assortment of S-foils and solar panels. The cockpit looked like two A-wing cockpits welded together. The torpedo tubes definitely looked like they belonged on a Y-wing. And the laser cannons seemed like they'd be more comfortable at the tips of the wings of an X-wing. Jacen and Jaina liked where all the pieces were though, and they could only apologize to the long dead pilots of the previous ships for cannibalizing the parts.

After the twins had stumbled on a crashed TIE fighter many years ago and Jaina had gotten it to fly, the twins had always wondered if there might be more wreckage on the moon from the battle against the first Death Star. They were hesitant at first, fearing that they might find more Imperial pilots as well as ships. When they had found that first TIE fighter it had come fully loaded with a pilot. But soon their fear of finding another enemy pilot was overcome by the possibility of finding a friendly one.

Jacen, Jaina, and Lowbacca searched the moon for many kilometers in each direction. They found no more pilots, living at least, but they did find a treasure-trobe of ships. Lowbacca's love for working with computers and machines was rivaled only by Jaina's love for the same. Together the two of them began to construct a makeshift spacecraft. Jacen, who knew little of computers, was designated the part finder. Jaina, and Lowbacca occasionally looked for parts, but it was mainly Jacen's job. Cries of "I need another solar panel" or "I'm out of power couplings," sent Jacen into action.

His ability to communicate with animals proved very useful. If it was a large piece, Jacen would ask a large bird to keep its eyes open for it. If however, the bird came back to say that it found it, it would be Jacen's job to go get it. Jacen didn't want to take advantage of the animals and use them for physical labor, especially when he had the Force and could move large objects with ease. Over the course of the last seven years they had gathered parts, but only in the last few had the ship they were building began to take shape. It had been Jacen's job to give the craft a name, and he had appropriately named it the Scavenger.

As the twins approached the ship they wondered what their dad would think of it. Their father always took grief about his ship, the Falcon. People said that it looked like a piece of junk, but next to this ship it would probably look like a work of art. A loud banging noise came from within the ship. Jaina raced toward it to identify the intruder, but Jacen held back. "It's Lowbacca," he said to calm his sister.

Jaina stopped. She hadn't even considered using the Force to identify Lowbacca. That, she knew, was the big difference between them. Jacen followed his sister to the ship, knowing that she worked off aggression and anxiety by fussing with the Scavenger. Jacen figured that with the current situation involving Anakin, Jaina would be down here for a couple weeks.

The ship had flown already and was pretty fast. They had even tested the hyperdrive successfully. Jacen hadn't doubted that the ship would fly. Everything that Jaina and Lowbacca built always worked. Jacen chalked this up as another victory for the Force. They worked with the Force, and it was never wrong.

Some how they had managed to keep this ship a secret from the rest of the Academy except Tenel Ka. They had even, to their belief, kept Master Skywalker in the dark.

Jacen and Jaina had initially thought to go after their brother, but they realized that they would simply be breaking a trust with Streen if they left. Also they knew that it was a test for them to accept Streen's words that Anakin would be safe. For now they would just half to wait.

****

Chapter 7 "First Strike"

"How's the speech coming." Luke walked out of his room into the main lounge area of the large shuttle.

Han glanced at his watch and saw that it was ten minutes until they dropped out of hyperspace and arrived at Hastrin. "I've decided to give my speech to Threepio and have him read it. No one will ever want to be a smuggler again."

Luke laughed. "I wouldn't be too sure of that. Have you ever heard some of Threepio's sound effects? Kids really go in for that kind of stuff. He might create a new breed of Solo wanna-be smugglers."

The two of them went into the cockpit to watch the hyperspace count down. As the ticker got under a minute Han spoke up. "So what kind of escort do you think we'll get?" Luke didn't answer but stared straight ahead. "Hey, kid," Han said using a term he knew Luke hated. "I asked what kind of escort do you think we'll get?"

"They're waiting for us," Luke said gravely.

"Of course they are. We told them when we'd be coming." But Han had caught Luke's tone of voice. "What do you mean?"

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Luke added, remaining vague and stealing Han's line.

"What do you want me to do?" The hyperspace count down had reached ten seconds. "We either pull out now or plow through Hastrin in hyperspace, and I know I have a bad feeling about that." Receiving no advice from Luke, Han eased the hyperspace throttle forward. The starlines disappeared, but instead of Hastrin filling their forward view, they were staring down the turbo lasers of ten Imperial star destroyers. "Well," Han gulped, "I think this confirms your feeling."

"Escape?"

"I'm sorry," Han said as he looked down at the ship's sensor display. "I count about ten interdictor cruisers moving into position behind us."

"Well Han, it's been fun."

"Hey, don't go giving up on me already. They haven't shot us down yet, maybe they just want to chat."

Luke gave Han a ridiculous look. Han ignored the look and flipped on the shuttle's communicator. "Excuse me, big scary looking Imperial Star Destroyers, but we have an appointment on Hastrin, and you are detaining us."

"Perhaps you would allow us to take you down personally," a voice responded.

"Who am I talking to?" Han asked the faceless voice.

"This is Commander Snotzenexer, and I believe you are General Solo."

"Now that we have those tedious introductions out of the way, will you let us pass."

"They've locked a tractor beam on us," Luke said, interrupting Han's conversation.

"And Snotzenexer had seemed like such a nice guy for a while," Han said with sarcastic remorse. "Do you know any tricks to get us free from the tractor beam?"

"Several," Luke said. "I can get us free from this tractor beam in a flash, but then you have to out-fly the ten Star Destroyers and all of their TIE squadrons in a diplomatic shuttle that has, may I remind you, no weapons."

"So we let them real us in?"

"They could have blown us right out of the sky as soon as we left hyperspace. They obviously want us taken alive."

"Good," Han said, "I always did prefer a public execution over getting atomized in space."

The tractor beam didn't pull them toward the ship but sent them toward the planet. Once they got within Hastrin's atmosphere, Luke felt the tractor beam let go. "We're free. They let go." The ship shuddered. "Never mind. Now the planet has us."

The New Hope was pulled toward a mountain range. As they neared, Han and Luke could make out their destination. A landing spot was cut out of the side of the mountain and was covered with storm troopers. "I had a streak going of about seven years without seeing that awful white armor," Han said. "I hate breaking that record."

The ship settled down on the ramp. "Can you put them all to sleep or something?" Han asked hopefully.

"Yes, but after the first five people started nodding off, I'm sure the other fifty-five would come in firing. I don't have a way to knock them all out at once."

"Couldn't you get real mad and shoot lightning at them?"

Luke frowned. "Don't even joke about it Han. I say we just go with the flow. If we try to escape we'll get shot down and probably killed, but if we go with them, it appears that they want to keep us alive."

Han shrugged and activated the exit ramp. As they approached the outside, Han reached for his blaster. Luke put a hand on his arm. "Let's not come out shooting. A gun in the holster is twice as dangerous as a gun in the hand. When you have it in your hand, all your cards are on the table."

They walked slowly down the ramp. When their feet became visible to the storm troopers, all of the trooper's rifles came up ready. Han and Luke were soon standing in front of about sixty armed rifles. "Can you tell what setting they're on?" Han asked under his breath.

"Maximum stun," Luke replied mentally.

A turbo lift binged, and the doors opened. Captain Tallon appeared with five other stormtroopers. He walked to the edge of the ring of stormtroopers. He smiled as he looked at the hopelessly outnumbered Rebels. "Disarm and cuff them," Tallon ordered.

Four storm troopers got up and moved toward the pair. "Don't move," Luke said again mentally. "I'll handle this." The first two men came up with large wrist shackles. They locked them over Han and Luke's wrists. As they stepped away. Both pair of cuffs unlocked and fell off.

Knowing what Luke did, Han smiled. "You have some pretty incompetent storm troopers here, Captain. They teach cuffing in the first year of the academy."

Not to be made fools of, the two storm troopers hastily retrieved the fallen cuffs and reattached them. They were soon on the ground again. "We remain uncuffed," Luke said mater-of-factly.

The next two storm troopers tried to remove Han's blaster, and Luke's lightsaber. Each stormtrooper grabbed onto his respective weapon and pulled, but neither weapon would budge. "Pull really hard," Han mocked, "I think it's stuck."

Suddenly both weapons came free and the storm troopers went flying backwards. As soon as the storm troopers hit the ground, the weapons came free from their hands and back to their appropriate owner. "We also remain armed."

Tallon's look had turned to one of disgust. "Stun them!"

Five storm troopers fired. A flash of light came from Luke as he drew his lightsaber, deflected the bolts back at the storm troopers, and replaced his lightsaber on his belt, deactivated. The five storm troopers who had fired lay motionless on the ground. "We remain conscious."

Tallon had to at least smirk at Luke's defiance. "Okay, but you must come with me, because I do not think that you will be able to deflect sixty bolts at once."

Han and Luke moved toward the Captain, Luke remaining alert and Han relaxing, trusting his friend. They entered the turbo lift with the Captain and five other storm troopers. It was a big turbo lift. "Where are we going?" Han asked as the lift whisked them down.

"You will see," Tallon said secretively.

"You wouldn't by any chance be taking us to see the Hastrin representatives?" Han asked hopefully. "We're here on a purely diplomatic mission."

Tallon smirked, but didn't respond.

Suddenly Luke stiffened. A sense of darkness was creeping over him. "No!" he yelled. His lightsaber leapt into his hand, and with a snap-hiss, his blade cut a hole in the top of the lift. He bent at the knees and used what little Force he could still feel to propel him upward as he jumped.

The move from Luke was fast and unexpected, but Tallon had lightening quick reflexes and managed to grab Luke's ankle as it past through the hole in the lift. Luke's momentum carried Tallon up into the remaining ceiling of the lift, but Tallon held on. Luke's upward momentum was destroyed and he felt a popping sound in his hip. He came crashing back down into the lift. As soon as he hit the floor, two troopers pined him down. Tallon used his height to retrieve the lightsaber from the top of the lift where Luke had dropped it. Luke tried to call the lightsaber to his hand but the darkness was complete. Luke looked over toward Han and saw that he was pinned up against the side of the lift by the remaining three storm troopers.

Tallon deactivated Luke's weapon and leaned down into Luke's face. "Ysalamiri are wonderful creatures, don't you think?" Luke realized what had happened, but had little time to contemplate it. He felt a sharp prick in the side of his neck, and was soon greeted with an entirely different type of darkness. A few moments later Han too joined Luke in darkness.

***

Captain Biggs paced the deck of his Calamarian Cruiser methodically. He was unsure of what he'd find in the Danzig system. He didn't like jumping into situations he was uninformed about. He checked his fleet status again to try to give himself some measure of confidence. His small fleet consisted of two other Calamarian Cruisers, four Assault Frigates, and three Carriers containing six squadrons, four X-wing and two E-wing. It wasn't a huge fleet but it should be able to stand up to anything that the Empire had. That is if their information was accurate.

Biggs checked the hyperspace chronometer again. Still another thirty minutes. They were scheduled to drop out of hyperspace on the far side of the system on the idea that any base would probably be far away from the unstable Danzig 359. Biggs didn't want his men to see him this anxious, but he couldn't help it. In all of his other missions he had served under a General or an Admiral. This was sort of his initiation mission. The one in which is prowess would be tested, and the one that future promotions would depend on.

Biggs was starting to go back to his cabin to wait out the rest of the flight when the entire ship shuddered violently. Biggs was almost thrown to the floor. "What was that?" he shouted at the nearest officer. Biggs could here the noise of the hyperdrive engines whining under stress. Suddenly the hyperdrive engines copped out completely.

"Sir, I believe that we just ran into an interdiction field," a young officer said from his post.

"What about our Bakuran Interdiction Breakers?"

"The BIB's appear to have failed, sir. I believe that this interdiction field is too strong. All of the other ships have now left hyperspace too."

"Where are . . ." Biggs' voice trailed off as he looked out the window to answer his own question. They were approaching the Dark Ring.

***

Commander Skeener looked out of window at the pitifully small fleet in front of him. He loved being in command of the invincible Dark Ring. He could never fail. To fail meant to die. Lack of failure not only helped ones life expectancy, but it usually meant promotion when the people above you failed. "Commence strategy Nova," he ordered his officer's. This was going to be fun to watch.

***

"General," a lieutenant approached Oskiman. "The New Republic fleet has arrived, and Commander Skeener has started Nova."

Oskiman nodded, and the lieutenant scurried off to his duties. The general's fleet was on the other side of the Dark Ring, waiting. Waiting to crush the New Republic.

***

In the bowels of Coruscant Wedge received the information from a junior officer. "Admiral, we just lost contact with Biggs' fleet."

"Where?"

"They were on schedule to pass by Danzig 359, when their signal disappeared."

Wedge ran over to a communicator. He punched in a number and waited for a response. "What is the status of Danzig 359?"

On the other end of the line Ransig, a senior science officer complied by punching up the star on his computer. Out in space on a New Republic satellite, a powerful telescope whirred and groaned as it turned toward its assigned target and began to focus. Ransig heard of the status of the fleet from the Admiral, and a few seconds later a dim blur appeared on his screen. He tried to pretend that he could see each tiny ship. Then he realized that their closest satellite was a little over two days away at light speed. This satellite picture told him nothing of the stars present condition.

"What could cause us to lose contact with the fleet?" Wedge asked.

Ransig thought for a while. "If the star has progressed in its decay further than we had thought, then it's possible that the supper dense star could be producing a natural interdiction field and be jamming their signal. If that's the case, then all they'll have to do is turn around and change course. We should be regaining contact with them in within the hour."

***

Biggs stared at the monstrosity in front of him. "Someone tell me what we're looking at."

"Unknown sir," someone finally managed to muster. "It seems to be a huge wall in space."

"Is it jamming us?"

"Affirmative sir."

"They're firing!"

***

Commander Skeener watched as the beam of intense heat lanced away from the Dark Ring and connected with the lump of lampium. The metal turned to liquid almost immediately. The tractor beam was holding it in place nicely. "Increase power to tractor beam and be ready to raise the cloaking device on my command." The temperature readings on the lampium were approaching astronomical levels, which was exactly where they had to be. All of the solar panels on the inside of the Dark Ring had flipped and had become reflecting mirrors. They were all adjusted to reflect the sun's energy to one point on the inside of the Dark Ring. The massive energy was then focused through a huge crystal and aimed toward the lampium.

Skeener poised the command on his lips as he watched the temperature reading. The increase was becoming larger and larger as the pressure grew exponentially. "Engage cloaking device," he said, "and cover your eyes." The Dark Ring became transparent and a fraction of a second later the lampium exploded.

***

In front of him the Dark Ring disappeared, which was the signal that Oskiman had been waiting. From his position on the Doomsday Hammer, General Oskiman gave the command for his fleet of twenty Imperial class Star Destroyers and one hundred Victory class Star Destroyers to race around the star to crush the New Republic.

***

The incredible flash of vaporized lampium temporarily blinded all of the New Republic officers. "Sir we have lost all shields. What ever that flash was, it did an awful lot of damage."

Biggs wished he could pull back. Just turn away and run. That's when he saw the ships coming.

***

"Report," Skeener barked.

"All of the New Republic ships' shields are down, sir. Our power is almost fully drained. Unless we flip the mirrors back to solar panels we won't be able to fire."

"Decloak, and flip the mirrors. Don't worry about firing. That's what the General's fleet is for."

***

Oskiman's Super Star Destroyer was the first one around the star, and it wasted no time getting in range of the first Assault Frigate. The Assault Frigate had no shields and exploded in a matter of seconds. Oskiman realized that the size of his fleet was over kill, but better over kill than underkill.

An Imperial Star Destroyer took out a Carrier before it unloaded its fighters. The other two Carriers quickly unloaded and were then promptly blown to pieces. Thousands of TIE's were launched at once and the remaining four squadrons of New Republic fighters were snuffed out before all of them could even make radio contact with one another.

***

Biggs watched it all unfold before him. There was nothing he could do. There was no battle maneuver, he was aware of, that a Calamarian Cruiser, with her shields down, could perform against a Super Star Destroyer. He looked around at his crew and wished he could have gotten to know them better. He knew that they trusted him, and he knew that none of them blamed him for this. He also knew that the story that every officer dreams of dying in battle, was a lie. He had never dreamed of this, and this was certainly no battle. To his knowledge, not one of the New Republic ships had fired a shot. He would have kept on thinking these thoughts, but about then the Doomsday Hammer decided to recognize the cruiser's existence by ending it.

****

Chapter 8 "Second Strike"

Lando, Trince, and Yova stood in the same place they had the day previous. This time only Lando had a flashlight, and he was fast realizing its uselessness. Trince again had his lightsaber out, and Lando saw that the dim glow of the Jedi weapon was doing more to aid the search than all five hundred watts of his flashlight. Lando would have turned it off if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't care to stub his toe on the occasional rock. They were still hesitating at the same point when Lando spoke. "Can you sense anything different than before?"

Yova answered by cautiously walking forward. Trince knew that this was Yova's strength and he fell in line behind her. Lando realized that he was far too impatient for this slow plodding along, and he took up the rear.

The group rounded a corner, and the gradual slope downward evened off. As they completed the turn, Yova held up. "What is it?" Lando asked eagerly. He looked ahead to see why she had stopped. They were standing in front of a low archway about the size of a double door. Beyond the doorway was a large cavern. The open room was a square of about fifteen meters on each side. The ceiling was three meters high. It looked artificial, but Lando couldn't see any traps. "I still don't see-" he started.

Yova bent over and grabbed a hand full of the powdery dirt at their feet. She tossed it into the room and used the Force to stir it up. About one hundred different red trip beams zigzagged across the entire expanse of the room. "It will take us weeks to find a safe route through that mess," Lando complained.

The dust was starting to settle and Trince mixed it up again so they could see every inch of every beam. While Trince was studying the array of red, Yova was studying the archway. She reached up the side of the doorway. Her hand moved as if it were following some hidden track. Trince saw what she was doing and backed up to give her room. Her hand stopped at about eye-level. She struck the rock sharply with the heel of her palm, and a section of the rock slid away revealing a keypad.

Yova paused with her hand over the numbers. "Have your people found the signal coming from down here yet?"

Lando nodded. "Found, recorded, jammed, and being resent."

Yova closed her eyes, her hand hovering over the keypad. She suddenly opened her eyes and pressed a flurry of numbers, paused, and then pressed some more. When she was finished she stepped back. Lando watched as red beams flickered off one by one.

"I'd love to see what was projecting those beams out of solid rock." Lando pushed past the two Jedi and rushed into the room.

"Lando, no!" Yova yelled, but it was too late. Lando stepped on the cavern floor and found to his utter surprise that the floor wasn't there. He screamed as he plummeted down. As he flipped in the air, he could see that the bottom of the pit was covered with stalagmites. He rushed toward them with terrific speed, and then suddenly stopped, only centimeters from the tallest spike.

"I've got you!" Trince screamed. "Are you okay?"

Lando's voice finally came back to him and he squeaked a "yes."

"Don't make any sudden movements and you should be all right." Lando started to slowly rise. The deadly spikes got further and further away, and Lando realized just how far he had fallen and how little of a chance he would have had to survive the fall if Trince hadn't caught him. He glanced up and saw he was right underneath the false ceiling of the deadly pit. He passed right through the ceiling and found himself back in the room he had intended on entering.

Trince floated him over to the hard ground, and Lando saw Yova pressing more buttons. The holo floor of the cavern disappeared as she pressed the last button. There was still a narrow ledge that worked its way around the room, but Lando gestured for one of the Jedi to go first. Trince walked out on to the narrow ledge and moved to the first spot that a beam had come from. He reached his hand into the wall, and it passed through just like Lando had through the floor. He felt cold metal and his hand probed further. It seemed to be a small globe about the size of his head. He found a pressure point, and he was able to remove the globe from the wall. As it passed through the fake wall, it began beeping furiously.

Trince prodded it on all sides with the Force and felt a slot open at the bottom. He flipped the globe over in his hands, saw a digital display change from nine to eight, and knew he was in trouble. "Move!" he shouted and flung the globe back down the tunnel they had come. Lando and Yova dove to the side as the globe shot by through the spot that they had just occupied. Trince grabbed hold of the globe with the Force and increased its speed. He could sense the timer: six, five, . . . He filled himself as full as he knew how with the Force and funneled that power into the small sphere. The silver projectile rocketed up the corridor, sparking of the walls as Trince guided it around curves. Three, two, . . . It shot out of the cave like a ball from a cannon, and in the last two seconds, it flew four kilometers up before turning into an enormous yellow flower of fire.

Trince relaxed and all of his muscles went limp from the release of strain. He sat down on the ledge and let his feet hang over the edge of the pit. This task would not be as easy as he had thought.

***

Leia let the water run through her hair. The warm shower was just what the doctor had ordered. Leia could feel the cramps from the days in hyperspace ease out of her limbs as the steam caressed her body. She turned off the water, and as she reached out of the stall for a towel, she yawned deeply. She was more tired from the trip than she had thought. As she scrubbed her wet hair with the towel she almost fell forward, catching herself at the last second and yawning again. She needed a strong cup of tea. She had been invited to a dinner tonight to honor Tenel Ka's return, and she planned on attending.

After tying her hair up in the towel and putting a robe on, she moved to the kitchen of the luxury suite she had been given. Chewie and the droids had been given another room right next to hers. When she reached the kitchen, she found that she had walked half of the trip with her eyes closed. She opened them and shook her head trying to rattle the sleep out. She used the Force to make herself alert, and that helped a little. She got a mug and held it under the hot water dispenser. As the water overflowed from the mug and burned her hand she was startled awake. She pulled the cup out of the dispenser, automatically turning off the water. She brought the mug up to her mouth and burned herself again.

What was she doing, she scolded herself. This water's to hot, plus there's no tea in it. She was definitely in no shape for the dinner tonight. She used the Force to keep her semi awake while she sent an apology to Tenel Ka for her absence. She managed to make it to her room conscious, but she collapsed onto her bed and fell fast asleep before she could change.

***

Tenel Ka frowned slightly when she read the message. She didn't know Leia very well, but she knew that she was an exceptional diplomat and very familiar with other races cultures. Tenel Ka tried to trust Lea's judgment. She guessed that it was better for Leia to be absent than for her to fall asleep in a plate full of steamed framguad.

***

Laya smiled slightly when she read the message. She was glad the knock out potion had worked so well. She was afraid that putting it in the shower pipes would dilute it too much, but it had worked fine. It wouldn't have been good if Leia had simply fainted in the shower. Then suspicions of foul play would arise. This was perfect.

Laya moved away from her computer. Her line tapping skills had also been perfect. The Hapan security department didn't have a clue that she had broken in and had access to all of the rooms in the hotel.

Laya got dressed in something she had seen Leia wear yesterday and had then stolen. She picked up the lightsaber from the table and put it on. The weapon was designed to match Lea's exactly. She moved out of her space ship that was hidden well in a small forest.

Laya soon walked into town. She was wearing a hooded cloak and a veil, a common practice among Hapan women. Even if she walked around unveiled, she wouldn't get any strange looks. Men tended not to look women in the face, and other women didn't talk to strangers. Plus Leia was well known and the few women who noticed her would not think that her presence would be that odd. She walked to the far side of city, where there wasn't much traffic.

There were many unmarked, classified buildings in this section of the city. Laya knew which building she wanted and she made her toward it. Not having the Force skills that her twin had, she had to be extra cautious not to be noticed now. She moved to one of the outside doors. It was locked, but the lock was not designed to stand up against the strength of an HRD. She entered through the broken door and closed it quietly behind her.

Laya made her way up the stairs to the third floor. She noticed the panning security cameras and made sure to keep out of their view. She glanced around the corner and saw her destination. A steel door. A lone armed guard stood in front of it. If Laya was a living organism, she would have taken a deep breath before she marched around the corner; she wasn't, so she didn't.

"Hey you there st-" was all the surprised guard was able to say as Laya strode quickly up to him. His voice gurgled over with blood when Laya reached him. She withdrew her hand from inside his chest after she was quite sure he was dead. She examined her steel fingernails, and praised her makers for such a magnificent weapon.

The steel door ahead of her was quite past the level of her strength. She detached the lightsaber from her belt and ignited it. She had the programming of many great sword fighters, but she didn't need any of that knowledge now. She hacked at the door, cutting away a large hole. She deactivated the weapon and returned it to her belt.

Laya knew that somewhere alarms were going off and she had to be quick. She threw a small canister in through the door and waited for the vault to fill with smoke. Satisfied, she ran in through the hole. She was surrounded by beautiful jewelry in glass cases. Picking a few of the more valuable items, she broke the glass and ripped them away from their respective cases.

Time was running short. She only had a few minutes left before this place was swarming with guards. Confident that she had left enough clues for the slow-witted Hapans, yet at the same time confident that she had not been too obvious, she ran out of the vault through the hole in the door. She raced back through the building with faster than human speed. She left through the same door she had entered and quietly slipped off into the night.

***

Chief Sangrine looked at the dead body and then at the door. Who had done this? The door had been made of high-grade steel, yet it looked like it had been cut through like soft bread. The dead guard at his feet had been killed before he could even draw his weapon. The wound in his chest looked like it could have come from a large knife.

"Sir, you better look at this," another officer called him away from the grizzly scene to look at a computer screen. "This is the recording that our cameras were able to capture of the robbery." An image of an undamaged vault appeared on the screen. "The intruder threw some kind of smoke bomb in to attempt to thwart our cameras." The smoke that still lingered around the scene told Sangrine that much. Soon the screen showed a figure moving within the vault. The smoke allowed for only a hazy outline of the felon. The gender was not even discernible. Something caught Sangrine's eye as the intruder turned suddenly inside the vault.

"Replay those last few seconds," he ordered. The image on the screen fuzzed as it rewound, then cleared as it began to play again. "Pause it right there." As the intruder turned, their cloak flew outward and something else became horizontal due to the centrifugal force. "What is that?" he asked pointing at the cylindrical object that hung from the criminal's belt. It was about thirty centimeters long and not very wide.

The other officer shrugged and called another officer over to have a look. "What do you make of that?" he said, pointing toward it.

"Yea," he said as though a memory popped into his head, "I saw something that looked like that yesterday when the Princess came home. One of the women she was with was wearing one."

"What is it?" asked Sangrine angrily. He didn't like to repeat himself.

"I think someone called it a lightsaber."

***

Leia woke up and stretched. That nap had been very refreshing. She glanced at her chronometer and saw that it was morning. She had been tired. She got up and noticed that she was still in a bathrobe. She tried to remember the previous night but it was all a blur. She moved to her closet to find some clothes to wear.

There was a loud knock on the door. Leia was not dressed for visitors, but she expected that it was Chewie coming to find out where she had been last night. Chewie was the only one that Leia knew of who would knock that hard. She walked to the door. Before she could reach it, the door crashed down and armed men stormed in.

Leia was taken totally by surprise. She tried to race over to communicator to call security, but she realized that these men were from security. "What's going on?" she managed as they swarmed around her.

"Your under arrest Leia Organa Solo."

"Arrest?" Leia wondered if she was still asleep and dreaming.

"You will remain silent." Rough hands grabbed her and cuffed her. She tried to speak but somebody had slapped some kind of collar on her and she couldn't get her voice box to function properly.

Mentally she called out to Chewie. Moments later her hairy protector burst into the room. Chewie took one look at Leia, cuffed and in her bathrobe, and went berserk. Security men were thrown left and right. "Stun him! Stun him!" Finally someone managed to shock Chewie into unconsciousness.

Bound and captured, Leia was escorted out of her room and down the hallway. Threepio stuck his head out of the door to see what all the commotion was. "Oh, dear. What has the Princess done?" he asked.

"Leia Organa Solo is under arrest for suspected murder and robbery."

"Oh my. This is bad."

***

Ransig, Wedge and several other officers stood in front of the computer screen. It had been two days since they had lost contact with Biggs' fleet, and they had not regained contact. They now stood there transfixed, determined to get an answer. They were just about to leave when it happened. Danzig 359 grew to its original brightness and then burst into a flare so bright that the computer screen turned off momentarily to protect itself from burnout. When it flipped back on, Ransig and the others were still seeing spots but they could make out the last few embers of the sun, and then it disappeared completely. 

"Admiral," Ransig said gravely, "Two days ago Danzig 359 went nova. Anything that was within five hundred million kilometers is now gone. If the fleet got ripped out of hyperspace it would have killed their hyperspace engines. They wouldn't have been able to reenter hyperspace for at least an hour afterwards. It is also possible that they were flying by when the sun blew, either way, the outcome is still the same."

Wedge didn't need Ransig to spell it out for him. He knew that Biggs and a lot of good soldiers were never coming home.

   [1]: mailto:Dpontier@hotmail.com
   [2]: http://www.geocities.com/piqsid/stories.html



	2. Part 2

****

Chapter 9 "Reaching out"

The E-wing dropped out of hyperspace with an acute bang and drifted slowly toward the forested globe. Anakin was eagerly looking at the planet that he had heard so much about, totally unprepared for the emotional onslaught that befell him moments later.

The Darkness pressed in on him. The long dead spirit of the Emperor hung around the planet like the stench from a dead animal. Anakin was caught off guard, but he was no novice and was able to push back the strong feelings of hate and fear. When he was comfortable again, he continued the approach to Endor.

He broke through the atmosphere and was struck by the similarity to Yavin IV. If it hadn't been for the Emperor's spirit hanging around the moon, Anakin thought that Endor might have been a good spot for an Academy. Besides, Yavin IV had had the spirit of Exar Cuun, a spirit of much more power than the Emperor's. Exar Cuun's spirit had been unknown at the time Luke had started the Academy, or else he might have given Endor more of a look.

Mentally Anakin searched for the spot were his uncle had burned the remains of his grandfather. Sensing it about ten kilometers to the east, Anakin turned the craft in that direction and punched the atmospheric thrusters. He skimmed over a small tree village. The ewoks looked like little wookiees, and Anakin smiled to himself when he saw their hyperactive reaction to his ship. He probably wouldn't see them again, but it would be nice to visit their village sometime. He had heard stories of how when his father and uncle had dropped in uninvited, they were almost cooked alive for dinner. Anakin knew that now, however, the little fur-balls were more acceptant of humans. The idea of his father tied upside down to a pole, screaming at Uncle Luke to do something always brought a smile to Anakin.

Up ahead Anakin could see a tall tree in the middle of a small clearing. Knowing that this was his destination, he headed toward it. There was a small area to the left of the tree, and Anakin set the E-wing down there. He deactivated the engines and carefully climbed out of the cockpit. His legs were sore from the long trip in hyperspace. He had spent the majority of the journey in a meditative trance, so he was not overly hungry or tired. Anakin got all of the tools and equipment for his lightsaber out of the cockpit and sat down in front of the tree. He calmed himself, trying to remove all of the distractions of life from his mind and began to assemble his lightsaber.

***

Jaina woke suddenly. The images from her dream were flashing around madly in her head. Her father and uncle were in some kind of trouble. She was panicked but tried to calm herself. She closed her eyes again and reached out with the Force to try to grab hold the fleeting images. The door to her room burst open, and her brother rushed in, breaking her concentration. "What's wrong!" he said in a frantic voice.

Jaina blinked and shrugged off her brother's intrusion. She tried to regain the images, but they were gone. She looked up from her sitting position and stared into the worried eyes of her brother. "Dad and Uncle Luke are in danger."

Jacen looked incredulous. "They just went on a simple diplomatic mission. Dad and Uncle Luke are more than capable of taking care of themselves." The look in Jaina's eyes was telling Jacen an entirely different story.

"I can't feel Uncle Luke. Like he's not there. I don't feel that he's dead, just some how out of the Force." Jaina was obviously struggling with the memory of the flickering images, but try as she might, she could not get a solid grasp on any one of them. All she could get was an overall picture of doom.

Jaina stood up from her bed, with her mind made up. "Get dressed Jacen. We're going to Hastrin."

"Wait just a minute, sis," Jacen held up his hands to slow down his sister. He paused, taking a good look at the grief in her eyes. "I'll get my stuff together and meet you down by the Scavenger."

Thirty short minutes later, the twins emerged from the forest into the clearing containing their ship. They both hurried into the ship and made their way through the narrow corridors of the ship to the living quarters. They threw their packs on the floor and were about to leave for the cockpit, when a groan came from the corner of the room. Jacen stopped in his tracks and starred into the dark, where he knew there to be a bed.

A familiar hairy figure sat up in bed and grunted a question. "Master Lowbac . ."

"We're leaving, Lowie," Jacen said before Em-Tedee could translate. "Our father and Master Skywalker are in trouble. We're going to Hastrin to see what the trouble is. You don't have to come."

Lowbacca quickly put in his concern for his friend's rash decision, but he also, as Jacen knew he would, agreed to go along. Em-Tedee was getting frustrated that he was getting ignored as a translator, and shut himself off. Over the years Jacen had been able to use the Force to understand his large friend. Jacen had found that his abilities to communicate with animals had often allowed him to bridge the gap between languages. He had used this skill for his mother a few times when she was supposed to meet with worlds that wanted to join the Republic but didn't speak Basic.

Jaina had left for the cockpit, while her brother and Lowbacca had been talking. She didn't find it unusual for their friend to be sleeping in the ship; he worked late and slept here often. Jaina had inwardly hoped that he would, in fact, be here. Although she didn't relish the idea of sending her friends into danger, she knew that Lowbacca was an incredible asset, and she feared that they were going to need all the help they could get.

Jacen and Lowbacca appeared in the cockpit just as the Scavenger was lifting off. The Scavenger rose into the air and wasted no time leaving Yavin's atmosphere. A few moments later the ship burst into hyperspace, and the only evidence that it had left was a clearing that had three deep indentations shaped like landing pilons.

***

Streen looked out his window, and for the second time this week, watched a ship leave Yavin IV. "Will they come back?" Tionne asked from behind him, remembering what Streen had said about Jacen failing.

"I hope so."

***

Captain Tallon walked down the spotless white-walled corridor. His military-style boots made a loud, echoing clomp as he moved his muscular frame toward the end of the long hallway. The hallway was empty. There were very few people who knew about this hallway - three to be exact.

Tallon approached the door at the end of the hallway. He went through the complex routine of taking the security tests and passed them with his usual efficiency. Tallon entered the lab and, what had become in the last few months, Dr. Kendel's residence. Tallon was surprised to find that Dr. Kendel was not alone and that Admiral Thrawn had beat Tallon to the lab. The Captian nodded toward the Admiral, remembering Thrawn's request that the formalities involved with their rank and employment be neglected unless they were amongst other lower ranking officers. After all, the charade of the formalities was only in place to teach respect to the lower officers, not to encumber the higher ones with unneeded responsibilities.

Tallon walked into the middle of the room and for the first time saw the operation table in the corner of the five-sided room, and on it, the reason he was called down. Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, lay quite sedated on the table. He was needlessly strapped down, and a fourth of his head was shaved. Tallon could only see the slightest of scars on the bald section of Skywalker's head and was reminded once again of Dr. Kendel's skill. Dr. Kendel had just finished putting away the last of his instruments, and Tallon realized that Thrawn had been there early to watch the procedure. Tallon had only been informed the operation was going to take place the previous day when Skywalker and Solo had been captured. Tallon was sure that Thrawn had seen far enough into the future though, and had probably been formulating his plan as his body had been maturing in the cloning cylinder.

Tallon had at many times tried to figure out Thrawn's mind, but had come to the final conclusion that Thrawn's ability to plan ahead and strategize was not only unexplainable, but unmatched. Thrawn's ability to plan a strategy for a battle before the reason for the battle had even taken place, was so amazing that Tallon doubted even the best military minds would be able to come up with better, more thought out plans, if they worked at the time of the battle, not to mention trying to organize a plan three months previous.

Tallon studied Skywalker's prostrate form on the table, another one of Thrawn's plans, Tallon was sure. Tallon had a rough knowledge of what the operation entailed, but he was no medic, and he was waiting for the report that he knew Kendel was formulating in his mind right now.

Kendel cleared his throat, disrupting the silence that had invaded the room since Tallon's arrival, and turned to look at the Captain. "Captain, as you know, I have been studying ysalamiri at the request of the Admiral, to find out more about their unique Force talents. After much research I have found that their brains, though not sentient and mostly confined to base instincts, are different from ours in a more unique way." He paused to take a breath and formulate the next part of his speech. "There is a small node in the left lobe of the brain in most animals and all sentient life. Scientists and doctors have never been able to discern what this node is for. Since most life forms use only a small percentage of their brains in the first place, this type of node is not that uncommon. I have found that ysalamiri also have this node, however unlike any other life form that I am aware of, their node is orientated opposite of all other life forms. As scientists, we are able to trace a large part of the brain's activity by following the trails of electrical stimuli. We can tell which direction the stimuli is flowing through certain parts of the brain, and the ysalamiri have this particular node 'wired' backwards."

Kendel paused to make sure that Tallon was absorbing all of this. The Captain nodded in confirmation, and Kendel continued. "The Force is known to be hereditary, and no one who has looked has been able to find anything different, physically, with Force strong people as compared to everyone else. I theorized that this node in question has something to do with the Force, since the only thing of any substance about it is that it is 'wired' backwards in ysalamiri, and they project a negative Force field.

"I experimented with a few ysalamiri by 'rewiring' their brains. The difference between the new ysalamiri and the old was very distinct. The new ysalamiri disliked being near the old ysalamiri immensely. From this I gathered that the new ysalamiri were now Force strong, and the Forceless bubble projected by the old ysalamiri was adversely affecting the new ysalamiri. Finally, what I've done with Skywalker is 'rewire' his brain so that he will project a Forceless bubble just like ysalamiri."

Tallon looked at Luke Skywalker. Tallon was definitely impressed with this procedure. Keeping someone who was as strong in the Force and as well trained as Skywalker would have been very difficult and risky. It would have been easier to just kill him, but Tallon knew that Thrawn wanted him alive, for now. Tallon wondered what Luke would think when he woke up. Tallon noticed Luke stirring ever so gently and realized that his question would soon be answered.

Luke was slowly filled with the feeling of consciousness as he aroused from the sedating drugs. He awoke to darkness. He opened his eyes, but the darkness remained. The darkness clouded his mind. He tried to sit up but was held back by unseen restraints. He looked around, his eyes focusing finally on his surroundings. His vision cleared, and he saw three people standing around him. Luke recognized Tallon immediately and the memories of his capture came flooding back to him. Luke saw Thrawn as well, but Luke had never seen him before, and so he didn't fully understand what a dire situation not only he was in, but the whole New Republic. Luke looked at Dr. Kendel without a hint of recognition. Luke had to free himself from these bonds. He tried to use the Force, but it wasn't there. Luke was momentarily shocked. He had been in a Forceless bubble before, but this was something totally different. Before Luke had always been able to sense the Force in himself just not in the things surrounding him, giving him nothing to draw on for power. Now it was like the Force wasn't even there. Normally he could reach out with his arm and grasp the Force. In an ysalamiri bubble he could still reach out, but he wouldn't find anything. Now it was like his arm had been removed, and he couldn't even reach.

Tallon enjoyed the look he was seeing on Luke's Force. "I'm sorry to disappoint you," he said, breaking the stillness in the room, "but your days of fighting against the Empire are numbered, and your days of wielding the Force are over."

Luke didn't want to believe what he was hearing. He could feel a small tingle on the side of his head, and the cool breeze of air conditioning against that portion of his scalp told him that that section of his head had been shaved. Luke also recognized the garb of the third person in the room to be consistent with that of a medical officer. Had they performed a medical procedure that had removed his Force talent? Impossible! The Force wasn't a physical attribute, was it? Everything Luke had learned from Yoda and Ben told him that the Force was something totally indescribable, but it was definitely closer to the spiritual aspect of a person than the physical aspect. If you could simply perform an operation to remove Force talent, was there an operation that could give someone talent? This would totally re-value the gift of Force sensitivity. Could the Empire create an entire army of Force strong soldiers? Luke shuddered at the thought of thousands of Dark Jedi. With cloning cylinders they could make millions of Jedi. Luke had managed to only find about twenty-five people over the course of twenty years. The Empire could produce at least one hundred times that many in about a week. Luke looked back towards Tallon for more information. "What have you done?"

Tallon smiled a smile that told Luke it might possibly be worst than he had thought. "The good Doctor has merely removed that awesome burden that you have been carrying around for your life. It must have been terrible. All of the responsibilities involved with being the galaxy's only Jedi Master must have been incredible. I'm sure you'll agree that your life has been made much simpler now."

Luke failed to feel relieved. Yet in the midst of his dilemma there seemed hope. The Empire wouldn't go through the trouble of this operation if they didn't plan on keeping Luke alive. Also Luke had learned to never give up hope. It was necessary to believe that what ever they had done to him, the New Republic doctors would be able to undo it.

Tallon nodded to Kendel. "That's enough Doctor, I think he is ready for his cell." Without responding vocally, Kendel walked over to Luke, bearing a syringe. As the Doctor inserted the needle into Luke's upper arm, Luke tried to fight against the knock-out medicine. His futile attempt reminded him of his Forceless condition just as he slipped into unconsciousness.

****

Chapter 10 "Illegal Procedure"

Tenel Ka stormed into Chief Sangrine's office with Artoo and Threepio trailing behind her. She stood there, her anger simmering over as the Chief of Security sat behind his desk, having not even looked up yet. "You didn't knock," he commented, still looking at the unorganized arrangement of scattered papers that covered his desk.

"No I did not!" Each of Tenel Ka's words were stressed heavily.

Sangrine's head popped up from his desk so quickly that he nearly fell backward on his chair. He had thought that his unannounced guest was simply another security officer. "Princess," he finally managed to stammer, "I didn't know that it was you. I'm sorry."

Tenel Ka ignored his insubordinance and launched into her complaint. "Why are Princess Leia and Chewbacca in custody?"

"Princess Leia is charged with first degree murder and grand theft. The wookiee is being held on counts of assaulting security officers and as a possible accomplice to the theft."

Tenel was shocked. She had heard Threepio's report on what he had found out from a brief conversation with some guards at the time of Lea's arrest, but it she hadn't wanted to believe it. Now that she had confirmation of Threepio's story, she could feel all of the surprise that she had held back. "What proof do you have?"

"The thief got into the building through a back alley-way door. The lock was broken cleanly without any trace of a cutting device. Either the thief was incredibly strong or they had a special device or ability. When they arrived at the vault, they made a quick precision kill, one that was definitely done by someone who was more than familiar with their weapon. The door to the vault was thought to be indestructible, but the thief cut through the door with considerable ease. In the video we have of the robbery, an unidentified cylinder is visible hanging from the thief's waist line. The cylinder and the door together led us to believe that the thief used a lightsaber. The lock in the alley could have been broken by the Force. Finally our scientists have been able to get a rough estimate of the height and weight of the thief from their outline in the video, and Leia matches the height and weight determined."

"Lea's average as far as height and weight go," Tenel Ka pointed out. "There are probably thousands of people who could fit the bill. And if you're looking for someone who is strong in the Force and owns a lightsaber, why didn't you arrest me. Besides if I was a thief and I had to get through that door, a lightsaber, whether I was a Jedi or not, would be the perfect tool. I'm sure that they're not that hard to get a hold of."

"That might be true Princess, but other than yourself we know of only one person who has a lightsaber, and until we find a better suspect, we will continue to hold Leia responsible."

"This is outrageous," Tenel Ka said. "What's her motive? Surely you know of Leia and the New Republic's wealth. What purpose would she have for stealing a few jewels and risk putting her future in jeopardy?"

"If there is one thing I've discovered Princess, it is that rich people have the best motive for robbery. What is the point of being rich, unless you can get richer?"

"Have you found the jewels yet?"

Sangrine frowned slightly. "No we haven't. My people are still looking for them."

"Until you find the jewels, I demand that Leia is to be released."

"I'm sorry Princess, but I can't do that."

"I give my word as the next ruler of the Hapes Cluster that she will not leave the city."

Sangrine stuttered. He couldn't very well refute the Princess' word. He started to make a reply but Tenel Ka cut him off.

"Or perhaps you would like to have my mother come down here. I understand that she and Leia became good friends on Dathomir."

Sangrine was shocked. He had been Chief of Security for twenty-three years, but a run in with the Queen would put an immediate end to his job. "We'll see what we can do."

Twenty minutes later Leia, Chewie, Tenel Ka, and the droids left the security building. Two security guards had been detached to look over the paroled prisoners, and they traveled behind them at a safe distance. One of them was still nursing a bruise the wookiee had given him.

When the group reached Tenel Ka's luxurious royal mansion, Tenel Ka and Leia finally managed to talk. Leia had been allowed a set of prison clothes to replace the robe she had been arrested in, and she wore it now.

"I'm sorry about this whole affair," Leia lamented. She cradled a cup of hot tea in her hands that one of Tenel Ka's male servants had given her. She sipped the tea in an effort to wash away the events of the morning. "I can't help but feel that this whole ordeal is my fault."

"Nonsense," Tenel Ka rebuked her. "I don't believe for a second that you would commit such a heinous crime. Surely you have an alibi for last night?" As soon as Tenel Ka asked the question, she remembered that Leia had unexpectedly canceled her reservation for the dinner last night.

"Yea, I have a pretty solid alibi. I was asleep alone in my apartment. I also agree with the Chief that I am the most likely suspect." Leia took another long sip from the delicious gourmet tea. "The real problem is that I'm not certain that I didn't commit the crime."

"What are you talking about?"

"Last night I was feeling unnaturally tired. I mean I was more than tired. I was barely able to send you that message before I passed out. Now that I have had time to look back on the event, I'm almost sure that I was in some way drugged."

"If you think that you could have done the deed in your sleep, I can tell you that I've seen the video of the crime, and the thief was not wearing a bathrobe."

"I'm sure that if I was hypnotized or drugged that I would have changed my clothes before and after." Leia paused. "I'm just not sure what happened."

"Don't worry, Leia," Tenel Ka consoled. "We'll find out who did this."

***

Laya moved silently. More quietly than anyone would have guessed possible for her four hundred pound mechanical frame. She crept amongst the trees at the edge of a private landing zone. She left three separate stunned guards in her wake. They would wake up with no recollection of who attacked them, because Laya had struck from behind. The large outline of the Millennium Falcon was becoming visible through the thin foliage that she was traveling through. She saw two guards stationed at the entrance to the landing pad. They were standing on opposite sides of the gate to the fence that surrounded the pad with their backs to the Falcon. She walked up to the three meter tall gate, careful not to trip the motion sensors she was sure surrounded the gate. She looked around for a tall sturdy tree that was close to the gate. Finding one, she quickly scaled it and moved to a branch that was four and a half meters off the ground and close to the gate. Laya gracefully leaped from the branch, did a flip in the air for fun, and landed noiselessly inside the gate.

Laya crept quietly up to the raised landing platform, keeping a careful eye on the two guards who still stood with their backs to the Falcon. She leaped straight up onto the platform, her soft shoes cushioning against her metal feet. She crept carefully and cautiously toward the ship. Laya was disappointed that the gangway was not open on the Falcon. She decided quickly to dispose of both guards rather than risk either of them hearing her enter the ship. Laya drew a small pistol and fired two quick shots, one at each guard. The darts were aimed true, and neither of them made a noise as they flew through the air, and like-wise, both guards remained silent as they slumped to the ground.

Getting the gangway open was no problem, and Laya was in and out of the Falcon in a few seconds, taking time to stash the jewels under one of the mattresses in the bunk rooms. Before she could leave, she had to account for all of the unconscious guards. Laya reached into her small pack and pulled out a mask. She put on the mask, transforming her face into a black stocking with two eyes. She was dressed in a nondescript green outfit that blended beautifully with the forest. She wasn't wearing the lightsaber she had used earlier, but had the dart gun strapped to her side.

Laya crept toward the building at the edge of the landing pad. The doors slid open and she walked into a short hallway. The hallway ended in a small room that was elaborately decorated. There was a table with several comfortable chairs and an expensive centerpiece had been placed in the center of the table. Laya decided that the landing pad was often used for important guests, and this was a meeting room to accept them. There wasn't anything of great value in the room, and there wasn't anyone here to see her steal it.

There were two doors that left the room, other than the one she had used to enter. She moved to the door opposite the hallway, and put her ears up against it. Laya turned up the volume on her sound receptors, but could hear nothing through the door. It was an old fashioned door and had a doorknob. She tested the knob to find it unlocked, and she turned it, opening the door. There was another, much bigger room on the other side of the room. Laya could see that the other door in the meeting room also led into this room. The room was large. The carpet consisted of colorful, concentric circles with a large chandelier hanging four meters above the center of the circles. It looked like a large lobby. There was a desk up against the wall and in-between the two doors that led into the meeting room. The desk was on Laya's left, and on her right there was large glass display cases exhibiting ornament bowls and artifacts. Past the display cases was a large stairway curving up and out of view. Directly in front of Laya was large glass double doors that led outside, and on the far left wall were a few small, insignificant doors.

Laya was just about to give up when she heard a small flushing noise and the sound of running water. She spun to her left and saw a security guard coming out of one of the doors wiping his hands on his pants. He began to return to his post behind the desk when his eyes locked onto Laya. "Hey what are you doing?" The guard drew his weapon and Laya bolted back through the door, hearing glass shattering behind her as the guard's shot missed. She heard him open the other door into the meeting room, and she raced down the hallway, hearing another shot whiz by her face and splatter into the wall ahead of her. She raced back onto the landing pad and made for the nearest fence. The guard raced out into the open after her, but paused when he saw the fallen guards. Laya leaped onto one of the fences, and alarms went off. She quickly scaled the fence and raced away on the other side. A couple distant shots missed by a few meters, and she was safe.

Laya slowed her pace and headed back into the forest. She glanced about to see if anyone was following her and smiled inwardly. Another job done, she headed back to her ship.

***

Lando, Yova, Trince, Mansenchin, and Herta were sitting around a large table eating breakfast. Yova and Trince had been there almost a week, and Lando felt that their progress was a little slow. After the big scare with the false floor and explosives a few days ago, they had found only one other such trap. It had been a locked door that had a combination attached. Yova had been able to crack the code easily and the door slid open without blowing anything up. Lando or Mansenchin had gone down with the Jedi each of the past few days. Each trip down after the big day in the booby trapped cavern had been pretty much the same. Yova and Trince would travel down the tunnels until they had reached new territory. They would then creep cautiously forward. Their trip would contain numerous long stops in which they would simply stand there and concentrate. Neither of them ever talked, and Lando or Mansenchin were forced to stand there patiently until the Jedi were done. After covering a few hundred meters of new territory, Yova or Trince would declare that that was as far as they were going to go that day. There were some days when they only gained two hundred meters. Lando was getting frustrated. If Yova and Trince had been anybody other than Jedi, he would have thought that they were simply trying to increase their pay by increasing their hours.

The group was just finishing the meal when Herta broke the silence. "How far have you guys gotten?"

Lando looked up at her. "We've uncovered about two point five kilometers."

Herta looked surprised. "But didn't we estimate that there was almost ten kilometers worth of tunnels before the actual mines? It's been almost a week and you've only gained a little over a kilometer from our original position."

Lando didn't want to speak out his criticism of Trince's and Yova's performance in front of the group. "Going has been slower than expected."

"We've ran into a few traps and the like," Mansenchin put in.

Herta looked a little concerned. She had heard the explosion a few days ago and the explanation that followed, but she had heard of nothing since. "What kind of traps?"

Lando was about to jump in and say that they hadn't really seen anything else, and that they were just being careful, but Trince jumped in before Lando could open his mouth. "Since the false floor, we've encountered two cave-ins, poisonous gas, and small group of venomous cave spiders."

Everyone except Yova looked surprised at what Trince had said. Herta was amazed that so much had been going on, while Lando and Mansenchin were looking at each other wondering if they had kept information from each other about their respective treks down into the caves. After they decided that neither of them knew what Trince was talking they confronted him.

"What are you talking about?" Lando and Mansenchin said in unison.

Yova shrugged. "None of those events actually happened because Trince and I prevented them."

"For example," Trince explained, "yesterday we tripped an undetected motion sensor that triggered a cave-in. I caught the weight of the rocks as soon as I felt that we had tripped the motion sensor. Together with Yova's help, we were able to re-secure the trap and solidify the roof of the cavern."

"What about the other things you mentioned? Cave spiders?"

"They were all similar instances," Yova answered. "We either sensed the traps ahead of time and tried to disarm them or we accidentally set them off and then had to try to stop them. The cave spiders were placed in hibernation, and they awoke when our body heat warmed a certain section of the cavern. It took all of our combined strength to put them back into a hibernation that wasn't as sensitive to our heat."

"So all those times that you two stop, your actually countering a trap that you just set off?"

"Not always," Trince responded. "Most of the time we are just searching ahead for any potential danger. All of our long stops, though, are usually the result of us either disarming a trap or our efforts to contain something that we just set off. The reason that we aren't traveling very fast is because each trap that we have to disarm or prevent takes a lot out of us physically, and we don't want to continue into uncharted waters unless we are in peak condition."

Lando nodded in both understanding and in agreement. "And here I thought that you guys were just stalling." Lando's opinion of both of them leaped astronomically. He remembered back to the time when he found the asteroid mine. He originally had thought to just take a scout team into the caves and try to absorb what was thrown at them. Lando now realized that the scout team wouldn't have gotten past the first trap.

Yova pushed away her finished plate and looked up at Lando. "We should be able to cover a few kilometers today. Trince and I went down alone last night and searched ahead with the Force. We couldn't find any more traps."

Lando nodded happily. They were in the cavern early that day. When Lando heard that they would be able to gain extra ground today, he was eager to start. This time down, Lando and Mansenchin both accompanied the two Jedi. As they walked through the old caves, Trince would point out the locations of the previous traps. The cave-in locations were invisible to the naked eye, and Lando and Mansenchin had to take it on faith the that the ceiling of the sections Trince pointed out, were indeed as fragile as he said. Lando was especially intrigued at the fake wall that the spiders were sleeping behind. Lando was more than familiar with the illusion of solid stone that the Empire had been using to mask their traps. He had nearly tumbled to his death because of one. The tank of gas was similarly hidden behind false walls. When they arrived at the place that they had stopped at the day before, Yova and Trince slowed the pace a little and continued ahead cautiously.

Yova had been right, and they traveled three kilometers before they stopped. "What is it?" Lando asked eagerly.

"We are just scanning further ahead," Trince answered. "However, on any future stops please don't say anything. Any distractions might hinder us from being able to safely disable a trap."

Lando nodded and allowed them to finish their scan without further interruptions. After a few minutes they continued down the cave. The group went another three kilometers before stopping again. According to Lando's original estimations of the underground system of caves, they were just about at the end. After the brief stop, they once again set off down the cave. After only about two hundred meters, both Jedi stopped abruptly.

"Oh, my," Trince said under his breath. Yova's shock was equal to Trince's, but she said nothing. Trince turned to Lando and Mansenchin. "We have a bit of a problem." Lando waited for Trince to explain. "There is a giant cave worm at the end of the tunnel."

"How big?" Mansenchin asked.

Yova snapped out of her initial shock. "No, the question you should be asking is, 'How huge?'"

Lando remembered the story that Han had told him about the giant cave worm that he had landed the Falcon in, mistaking it for a cave. The Falcon had barely gotten out of that 'cave' ahead of the chomping jaws of the huge beast. "Can you kill it?"

"I don't know, Lando," Trince responded. "The first thing we usually do when we encounter a new life form, isn't to decide how we are going to kill it."

"What ever we do," Yova said, "we're not going to do it today."

Trince nodded in agreement, and the troop turned around and trekked back to the surface.

****

Chapter 11 "Premium Information"

All of the officers were sitting around the large table again, and this time Tallon had made sure that there were enough chairs. Tallon was pleased with the progress he and his men had made in the short time since Thrawn had woken up. They had drawn quite a lot of attention to themselves though. The entire time that Tallon had spent on Hastrin had been relatively quiet. They had had no skirmishes outside of simulated battle. There had been no sign that anyone else had even been aware of their existence. Now they had obliterated a small fleet of New Republic ships and had captured two of its most prominent figures. Although they had been careful not to let too much information leak out as to what had actually taken place during the two instances, Tallon was sure that their existence wouldn't remain a secret for too much longer.

Seated beside Tallon, Thrawn cleared his throat. Tallon collected his thoughts and put himself in the frame of mind that was necessary to participate in the meeting. "We have moved forward well, and it is now time to take the next step toward the annihilation of the enemy."

Tallon watched as General Oskiman grinned wickedly. Tallon and his men had not engaged in battle before, and Tallon was experiencing his officer's reaction to warfare for the first time. Tallon had guessed that Oskiman's response would be something along the lines of pure enjoyment, and was happy to see his guesses confirmed.

Tallon was also not disappointed by Commander Snotzenexer's reaction. The Commander remained as impassive as ever. Tallon had often thought that Snotzenexer was an android, emotionless with an incredible calculating mind. Tallon had not yet given into his temptation's to have Dr. Kendel scan him, but he might in the future if Snotzenexer continued to remain emotionless, especially after they crushed the New Republic.

Dr. Kendel and Frowinger didn't play any major roles in battle, but he could sense that they were pleased with the progress and performance of their creations. Kendel was still bubbling over with success from the operation he had performed on Luke Skywalker. He had studied the ysalamiri for several weeks and was glad to see that it had not been in vain. Frowinger was pleased that the first report in from Laya, his personal creation, had been a positive one.

Tallon was not able to tell anything from the two Salynoids. Borock and Thorock simply conveyed facts and information, paying no heed to emotional or morale matters. Tallon appreciated this kind of efficiency. He knew that no matter the situation, those two would always perform their duties to best of their abilities without getting caught up in the surrounding mood, whether it be good or bad.

"Step one included catching the New Republic off guard. They had not suspected any kind of attack what-so-ever. As we speak, they are likely holding a similar meeting to decide what to do next. The difference between their meeting and ours, is that we have all of the facts, and they can only make speculations.

"Step two will involve letting the Rebels know who they have to thank for their recent losses by giving them more losses. This time we will not take care in hiding our identity or location. Through a series of hit and run attacks, we will put the New Republic off balance and scrambling to assemble an offensive counter strike. A strike that will surely fail."

Thrawn paused for the first time and turned to the General. "You will need to assemble five medium sized fleets. I would recommend that they not contain either of the Super Star Destroyers. I have carefully selected ten targets. These planets, or in some cases outposts, were chosen because of their insecurity with the New Republic. Quick, destructive attacks should turn that insecurity into outright distrust. I recommend that you choose four officers and yourself to command the fleets."

Thrawn turned to Snotzenexer. Tallon knew that Thrawn liked the commander. Tallon thought that this was because Thrawn saw a reflection of his own strategic mind in the appealingly shy officer. "Commander, you will not go with the fleets, but will wait until the New Republic is effectively dispersed before you enter the battle. You will be executing a vital ground attack. I believe that you know the target. You would do well to review the events concerning the last attempted attack on this target and why it failed."

Thrawn nodded toward Tallon, telling the Captain that he was finished. "Are there any reports that anyone wishes to make?" Tallon asked the collection of officers. Tallon scanned the faces of his men and paused when his gaze crossed Frowinger's hesitant expression.

"Speak Mr. Frowinger," Thrawn said before Tallon could say likewise. "There are very few things in this wide galaxy that are unimportant."

Frowinger smiled. "You might change your opinion when you hear what I have to report, sir. One of our outposts," he paused and looked down to his notes, "on the edge of the core systems and nearest to the Flansping system, has recently changed the strength of its signal."

"Explain," Tallon prompted.

"Well the signal from the asteroid base had always been very faint, but a few days ago the signal suddenly strengthened in power. The other scientists are blaming it on a bad battery that is experiencing a power surge."

Tallon quickly scrolled through his mental star charts, but could not remember any base in that area. He looked over at the Admiral, knowing that Thrawn was the veteran officer, and it was more likely that Thrawn knew of the base. Tallon could picture the brain waves flowing through Thrawn's head as the Admiral's usually emotionless face registered recognition and then concern.

"I suggest that you personally go check out the base," Thrawn finally said. "Take with you no less than thirty elite storm troopers."

Frowinger's face registered shock, but seeing that Thrawn was not going to explain himself further, he decided wisely, not to question Thrawn's decision in front of the other officers. Frowinger would meet with Thrawn later to see if he could get more information from him. No, he corrected himself. He would check into this mysterious base first to see if he couldn't come to the same conclusion that Thrawn had come to. If after an investigation, he still could not discern the reason for the Admiral's concern, then he would approach him.

Tallon was not that patient, and as the meeting dismissed, he motioned to Thrawn that he wished to talk. The two highest ranking officers in the Empire walked side by side down the hall toward Tallon's office.

Tallon entered his office first and took his seat behind his desk, while Thrawn sat across him in one of the two other chairs in the small office. "The name of the outpost is Cryst 32," Thrawn said knowing Tallon's question.

Tallon had expected this and had already turned his desk computer on. After entering the name and waiting a few nanoseconds for the name to register, Tallon had the Imperial file on the outpost in front of him.

Thrawn saw the flash from the screen on Tallon's face and continued. "Cryst 32 is a industrial crystal mine that the Empire discovered during the clone wars. It was one of three such mines, and the Empire relied on it heavily for weapon crystals. Because of its ideal location on the edge of the Core Systems, the Empire also used it to house weapon technology and prototypes.

"It was abandoned many years ago because of the New Republic's intrusion into the Core Systems. The Empire retreated from the position with the optimistic view that they would return and that the New Republic would pay very little attention to a meager asteroid in orbit around a planetless system. They did rig the asteroid with multiple traps and security devices designed to not only prevent unauthorized invasion into the mines, but also to destroy all of the weapon technology stored there.

"I am aware of all of this because I have studied the outpost myself in preparation for the time in which we can repossess it. I will not bore you with the statistics of it because I'm sure that you have them in front of you now."

Indeed Tallon was scanning the information that was flashing in front of him and becoming more excited by the second. This had indeed been a rich mine, and Tallon wondered if they could move ahead in the agenda to take back the mine sooner.

"The signal coming from the asteroid is being used as a silent alarm." Tallon didn't need Thrawn to spell it out for him and was glad that Thrawn didn't. Tallon knew that the first step in attempting to take the mine would be to jam all out going signals and replace them with signals of your own.

"From what I'm reading here," Tallon pointed out, "The mine looks impenetrable, unless you had a complete schematic and all the codes. I highly doubt that the New Republic would be able to obtain such plans."

"As do I."

"Then don't you think that thirty storm troopers is going a little overboard?"

Thrawn smiled, something he'd been doing a lot of lately. "I agree that a normal group of miners would be overmatched to such an extent that concern for the mine and the secrets it holds would be a waste of time. It is that same thinking, however, that was the reason for my defeat in my previous campaign. How many of the traps that you see there are Force-proof. I think that if we assume that are enemies are not complete idiots, we will come to the conclusion that it is more than likely that they would employ the use of Jedi to excavate such a protected mine. Also the mere fact that the new signal is still transmitting, means that the security of the mine is in jeopardy.. You can see that several of those traps are capable of destroying the entire asteroid. Since the signal is still transmitting we can assume that the group on our asteroid has either gotten past those traps safely or are so cautious that they have not yet attempted them. Either assumption tells us that they know more about the asteroid than they should."

Tallon understood completely. "Then thirty storm troopers seems far to few. Send a hundred."

"Again I agree. I also hope that Frowinger, after careful review of the asteroid and all of the possibilities, will come to the same conclusion."

Tallon smiled and hoped that Frowinger would pass the test. "There is one more question I have. What is the target that Commander Snotzenexer is responsible for?"

Thrawn cocked his head in curious wonderment. "What other target is there? Yavin IV, of course."

***

Wedge looked across the table at the small group gathered around the table. Ackbar, Senator Bislin sitting in for Leia, Admiral Drimil the head of the NRI, and Ransig were seated with Wedge. The situation they were looking at was grim.

"Let's start first with a clear description of what we're facing," Bislin said. Leia would have been in charge of this meeting if it weren't for her absence, and so the senator who was replacing her for the time being was in charge. "Leia could not be reached," he continued. "It appears that she is in a bit of trouble herself and has been placed under arrest." This was only news to Ransig, so the shock was minimal. "Although that is a problem, it is not the problem we are here to discus. Admiral Drimil could you please present us with all of the information you have on the recent activity in the Danzig system and surrounding areas."

The Admiral nodded and consulted his notes. "The small fleet that was sent into the Danzig system to inspect reported Imperial activity has not reported back since entering the system about a week ago. It is believed that the super nova of Danzig 359 destroyed the fleet. Whether this explosion was natural or induced by the Empire is still unknown. All sensor probes in the area are being in some way jammed or blocked. The extent of Imperial activity, or even the existence of any activity is unknown."

"I think we should closely examine this second idea on the actual existence of Imperial activity," Wedge spoke up. "We have only the word of Hastrin that such activity exists."

"Why would the Hastrins lie to us?" Bislin queried.

"It is possible that they are an Imperial world and they simple planned on luring us into a trap," Wedge explained. "They obviously new of the stars condition, and they perhaps planned to use it against us."

"That may be," Drimil started, "but how easy is it to predict the explosion of a star?" Drimil turned to Ransig, for he was at this meeting for a reason. "Mr. Ransig, is it possible to accurately predict a nova?"

"Yes," Ransig said after a moment's thought, "it is possible to predict the explosion of a star to within a couple hours as much as a month in advance. I feel that I should point out though, that it is much harder to predict the arrival of a fleet."

"I agree," Ackbar spoke up for the first time. "The Hastrins might have known of the time of the explosion, but we told them nothing of the arrival time of our fleet, only that there would be one."

"This whole line of reasoning depends on the treachery of Hastrin," Bislin piped in. "We must not rule out the possibility that there might very well be Imperial activity in the Danzig system."

"Point well taken, Senator," Drimil conceded, "but we must also consider this whole affair in light of what happened to Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. We lost contact with them around the same time that we lost contact with the fleet."

"It is possible that the Empire intercepted Hastrin's distress call and decided not to leave Hastrin alone anymore," Wedge reasoned. "They could have been waiting for Solo and Skywalker at the planet. If that is the case we have no reason to believe that they experienced a fate any different to that of the fleet."

"It is also possible that Hastrin was Imperial controlled from the start and played us for the sucker," Ackbar added.

"So our final conclusion is that there is indeed Imperial activity in some way or another," Bislin said. "Now, what are we going to do about it. It is clear that we cannot ignore such an obvious attack against the New Republic."

"I believe that we should wait," Ackbar advised. "I have never known the Empire to be laid back. They will make another advance against us and we must be ready for it."

"I agree," Wedge put in. "We don't know enough, if anything at all, about the Imperials. Such lack of knowledge already cost the lives of an entire fleet and probably those of two of the New Republic's most prominent figures."

"I'm not so sure that Solo and Skywalker are dead," Drimil countered. "Men of such prominence as those two, would certainly be more valuable to the Empire alive."

Everyone at the table nodded in understanding. "So our final decision is one of no action?" Bislin asked.

"On the contrary," Ackbar corrected, "We should mobilize the fleet and put them on patrol on our borders. We should alert all of the worlds near the core system to be sensitive towards Imperial activity. And we should attempt deeper and more powerful sensor probes of the Danzig system."

Again everyone nodded in agreement. "That line of action shouldn't be too hard to get the Senate to agree with," Bislin said. "I just hope it will be enough."

"We can only hope."

***

Anakin held his finished lightsaber up in the air examining it. It was a fine lightsaber, he knew. Better than any he had seen before. He had expected it to be excellent when he had started, but this far exceeded his expectations. He ignited it and watched in silent awe as the white blade cut effortlessly back and forth, humming through the air. The blade itself was so intense he was worried that his sister's filters would prove useless on the weapon. The crystal that Lando had given him was definitely the most superior focusing device that he had ever seen.

Anakin deactivated the weapon and attached it to his belt. He knew what he had to do. The questions about the Dark Side that had been bombarding him for the past few weeks had to be answered.

Anakin sat down in front of the great tree that had sprouted from his father's grave and closed his eyes. He reached out with his mind, not certain of what he was looking for, but sure that he would find it. His mind drifted away from the tree and ventured out into a more broad area of awareness. He immediately contacted the dead spirit of the Emperor. He felt confident in his strength in the Force and allowed himself to probe deeper into the Dark echo.

Anakin was pulled back in time to the manifestation of the Emperor. Anakin's senses started to become aware of a change in the surroundings. He began to see images of the inside of a space ship. No, a space station. The Death Star. He began to hear voices. They were familiar voices. Luke. Anakin looked about and saw his uncle and Darth Vader standing in front of the Emperor. Anakin also became aware of another feeling. Emotions. He could not only see the trio's reflected light and hear they emitted sound compressions, but he could feel their deep emotions.

The Emperor and Luke were the easiest to feel. The Emperor had an overwhelming feeling of contempt and control. Contempt at the fleet that was presently attacking his "invincible" battle station, but also in Luke's apparent boldness. Luke was feeling both confidence and resigned defeat. He felt confidence in his ability to stand up to the Emperor's temptations and to Darth Vader's will, but also defeat in his ability to survive the confrontation. Luke seemed resigned to die, but confident that he would do so instead of turning to the Dark Side.

Vader was full of confused emotions. He was still struggling against the words Luke had spoken to him earlier about there still being some good in him, and with the will of the Emperor. He was feeling loyalty to the Emperor, but also a feeling of concern for the well-being of his son. His feeling of uneasiness told Anakin that the real battle that would take place wasn't between Luke and the Emperor, or even between Luke and Darth Vader, but between Anakin Skywalker and the Lord of the Sith.

The Emperor and Luke began talking, but Anakin tried to disregard their words and instead focused on their feelings. The Emperor spoke with boastful unfounded statements of ultimate victory both with regard to the space battle and that battle which would occur between him and Luke. Luke responded with his confident denial of ever turning toward the Dark Side. Vader was both taken aback at Luke's boldness in talking back to his master, yet was also proud of his son.

Luke moved over to the window and was allowed to view the space battle. Anakin could feel Luke's feelings shift from that of confidence to despair and anger. Fueled by the Emperor's words, the anger in Luke grew until it exploded into a direct attack against the Emperor. Luke's anger was easily deflected by Vader's feelings of protection and concern for the well-being of his master. The first battle of emotions had been fought. Both sides being equal (Luke and Vader had the same strength in the Force, disregarding training), the feeling of protection and devotion had won over anger.

Luke and Vader began to duel. Neither of them had any prominent emotions, and neither of them gained an advantage. Finally, Luke, not wanting to fight his father, broke off the attack and hid. Luke began to think of everything at stake and of everything that the out come of this confrontation would effect. His mind drifted toward Leia, and Vader pounced on the thought. Vader pressed his point with a false sense of confidence that Leia would turn to the Dark Side as well.

Luke's emotion exploded into one over riding feeling. Love. Love for his sister and for all that she meant to him. His overwhelming feeling of protection for her was expressed in a sudden flurry of action against the source of Lea's potential danger. Vader still clinging to the false pretense of confidence was over powered immediately. The Emperor watched and smiled inwardly, mistaking Luke's emotion for that of anger.

Luke stood over his defeated foe, and his love shifted from Leia to his father. With the threat against Leia neutralized, he now showed concern for his father. Luke heard the Emperor's voice tempting him onward. Luke felt no anger toward his father, or even toward the Emperor. He deactivated his lightsaber and tossed it aside without even contemplating the Emperor's suggestion.

Luke turned to the Emperor and set up a barrier against him fueled by his love for his father and sister. The Emperor's determination was no match for Luke's barrier. The Emperor quickly shifted his feelings from confidence to anger. Luke's feeling of despair came once again. Instead of feeding off of the love that he had used successfully against Vader, he feel back in fear as the Emperor attacked.

Vader's feelings were once again in a jumble. Anakin felt love for his son and the Sith Lord felt anger for his missing hand and recent defeat. When Luke was on the brink of death, he cried out to his father. Anakin won, hurling the Sith Lord away into oblivion. The Emperor was totally unprepared for the two arms that heaved him into the air, and a few seconds later, into an elevator shaft.

Anakin Solo watched and felt the whole event unfold in front of him. The explosion of power that the Emperor emitted, blinded him and woke him from his trance. Still in a semi-meditative state, Anakin contemplated what he had just witnessed. He understood that the Force was funneled through a Jedi's emotions and that the feelings of anger and hatred belonged to the Dark Side. These were strong emotions, and they gave the Dark Side its power. Always in the past the Dark Side had proved stronger than the Light Side, but in reality the Force was a single energy source, and it would be impossible for it to be stronger than itself. The Dark Side of the Force was the same Force as the Light Side was, it was only used in a different way.

The battle between the two sides could better be described as the battle between negative emotions and positive emotions. The Jedi had always been taught to maintain a passive attitude, not to be the aggressor. When facing an enemy, a Jedi should only attack if it was in defense. If a life had to be taken to protect the innocent or the good, then it was acceptable. Never should a Jedi strike out at an enemy, even if it was an evil enemy deserving death, unless there was an immediate threat. It had been thought that striking out against an enemy for any other reason was a sign of the Dark Side.

Anakin now understood why the Jedi had always been over powered and out matched in the past. They had been fighting aggressive emotions with passive ones. You can't defeat anger with hesitance. Reluctance doesn't stand a chance against fear. You have to fight fire with fire. Instead of anger, love. Instead of fear, confidence. Instead of revenge, justice. Instead of hostility, compassion. Instead of arrogance, affection. Instead of rivalry, friendship. Instead of war, peace.

Anakin opened his eyes and looked around. He had the feeling that more time had passed than the few minutes that the trance had seemed to have taken. He became aware that he was very hungry. The feeling that days had passed became more real to him. He looked around at what he had first thought were bushes, but now he realized that he was surrounded by ewoks.

Seeing that he was awake, one of the ewoks approached Anakin with a piece of meat on the end of a long stick. Anakin knew of Jacen's skill with communicating with animals and like everything Anakin tried with the Force, had been able to duplicate this skill. Anakin took the meat and thanked the ewoks. After he had eaten, Anakin followed the ewoks to their village. He agreed to stay with them for a while, and the ewoks were more than eager to hear stories of the New Republic. The small furry creatures took pride in the fact that they had helped bring down the evil Empire and were anxious to find out if the Empire had been fully defeated yet.

Anakin found that he was quite exhausted from his meditation and he appreciated the hospitality the ewoks showed him. He would just stay there for a while and relax.

***

"Does it hurt?" Han and Luke had been in custody for almost a week, and Han had finally gotten enough courage to ask his friend about his bald spot. Luke had immediately told Han what it was when he had come back from the surgery five days ago, but he hadn't elaborated.

Luke rubbed the bald spot. He could feel the prickling of the short hairs that had already started to grow back. "It doesn't hurt physically, but it hurts emotionally more than you can possibly imagine. I have come to rely on the Force quite heavily in the past decade and have always had it with me ever since I ran into the ysalamiri of Thrawn and C'boath. I guess I could have learned a lesson from Tenel Ka about over-dependence on the Force, but I had thought that it would always be with me."

"What is it like to have the Force?" Han asked again. He had come along way from his original outlook of the Force as a hokey religion. He had a wife, three kids, and a good friend who used it, and he couldn't very well deny its existence anymore.

"It is a feeling of life and power. Not so much a feeling of self power, but an awareness of the power around you. It's like having a protective guardian always looking over your shoulder. The feeling that you're not alone, and anything you do in its will, you will be supported."

Han looked at his friend and could see that the strain of the situation was taking its toll on Luke. Luke had over the past thirty years aged maybe five years. Han had chalked this up to the Force, and now his hunch was being proved correct. Luke had made up for his lack of aging, by aging almost a decade in the past few days. His hair was slowly turning gray and for the first time Han could see facial hair on Luke. "Do you feel older?"

Luke didn't have a mirror, but knew what Han was talking about. He could feel his own face his limbs actually felt weaker with age. He had always used the Force to revitalize himself. He had stunted his hair growth, saving him the trouble of shaving or getting a hair cut. "Yoda once said 'When nine hundred years you reach, look as good you will not.' At the time I thought he was just trying to be humorous, but over the past few years I realized that there was some truth to that statement. I won't live for a thousand years, or even five hundred, but the Force will probably keep me alive for quite a while. Or it would have anyway."

"Don't worry, Luke," Han consoled. "If it's just a medical procedure, then I'm sure that our New Republic doctors will be able to undue it when we escape."

Luke didn't smile at Han's casual reference to an escape that seemed impossible. "But that's the whole point. If the Force is something that you can simply turn on and off with a medical procedure, then it ruins everything."

Han sobered a little when he heard the strain in Luke's voice. "It's my turn to ask you a question," Luke said, breaking the tension he had created.

"Fire away."

"How does an interdiction field work?"

"Wow, talk about changing directions." Han was initially taken aback by Luke's question, but he realized that Luke probably wanted to change topics as quickly as he could. "I thought you knew all about machines and such."

Luke shook his head. "I only know what I've had experience with and what people have taught me. I've never been around an interdiction field long enough to take it apart."

"OK," Han said, accepting reason. "First, do you know how ships travel through hyperspace?"

"If it will make it easier to explain, let's assume I don't."

"OK. Space is made up of an infinite number of points. When I say points in space, I don't mean Coruscant or Yavin, I mean infinitesimal points." Han held up is index finger and thumb and tried to illustrate a tiny particle. "When we move we are constantly passing through these points. It is impossible to get from point 'A' to point 'B' without passing through all of the points in-between.

"When we travel through hyperspace, however, we jump from one point to another. In essence we jump from point 'A' to point 'B' without wasting time in-between. Since it is impossible to miss all of the points, when we skip, we are actually at every point in-between 'A' and 'B' at the same time. This is why the stars appear as lines when traveling through hyperspace. We are seeing the stars from an infinite series of points at the same time. It would be like exposing film to a light and then walking in a straight line while keeping the film exposed. When you look at the developed picture, you see the light from all of the different angles along the path you walked.

"Each of these points in space, as I said before, are infinitely small and have a corresponding infinitely small mass. As you know everything that has a mass has a gravitational field surrounding it. What an interdiction field does is increase each point's gravitational field a little bit. This small increase in the gravitational field of each point goes virtually unnoticed except in hyperspace. As you can imagine, hyperspace travel is a very delicate thing, being as how it takes the laws of physics and throws them out the window. As each point in space grows in gravitational strength, they become harder and harder to skip. When the gravitational strength grows too much, it becomes impossible for a ship to simply skip points in space, and it gets yanked back into real space."

"So normal motion isn't effected at all?"

Han paused. "Well according to how a interdiction field works, it is theoretically possible for an interdiction field to impeded motion in normal space, but it is in actuality quite impossible. The amount of energy needed to create such a field would be astronomical. If you could do it, the result would be like trying to walk through a thick cream. Each point in space would be pulling on you a little harder than normal."

Luke nodded in understanding, so Han continued. "Well I've answered your question, now you have to do me a favor and tell me what you think of my speech."

Luke sighed sarcastically, but complied.

****

Chapter 12 "Cryst 32"

Lando, Lobot, Yova, Trince, and Dexter sat around the table, preparing to discus this latest road block. Lobot had spent most of his time in the communication tower with Jalence and Herta. Lando had asked him to participate in this meeting because of his vast data banks. Lando was certain that there was something Lobot would be able to access about the giant cave worm that could help them.

"I've been doing some tremor testing around the site," Dexter said. "I've determined that the tunnel system that the worm occupies is fifty meters in diameter, and the tunnels wind about for quite a few kilometers. I can't tell how much of the tunnel system the worm takes up, because the tremor tests themselves cause the worm to move around a lot."

Lando turned to Lobot. "Do you know how big the average worm is?"

Lights flashed about on Lobot's Hamarin interface band. "There have not been very many recorded sizes, except to say that they are no shorter than a kilometer and range in thickness from forty to one hundred meters across."

"In that light, fifty meters doesn't sound so bad," Lando extrapolated. He turned to the Jedi. "Have you to been able to make any head way on this thing?"

"We have tried to put it to sleep, but it's mind is so large and it spends so much time in a semi-hibernating state, that if it could sleep, we can't make it," Trince reported.

"As far as quenching its appetite, it doesn't have one," Yova informed the group. "This worm probably hasn't eaten in hundreds of years. When it senses anything its instinct is to eat it, hungry or not. Stunting an instinct is a little above our abilities."

"My best suggestion would to be to set up some kind of blockade," Dexter said.

"A worm that size would be able to break through any thickness of steel that we could obtain," Lobot said. "It would also be able to chew through any amount of rock."

"What if we could set a force field to contain it," Lando offered. "It would probably be able to break through, but the shock it would get when it touched it would make it think twice before it tried."

"That might work," Trince agreed, "but where are you going to get the force field?"

Lando paused realizing the point of Trince's question. He had that kind of equipment here, but nothing strong enough to deter a giant cave worm. "I would have to take a trip to Coruscant. We are low on food as it is."

Dexter nodded his head. "I've been meaning to ask you if I could take a trip to Coruscant. Now that we are so close to the end of the tunnel, I wanted to pick up some more instruments. I know Jim is thinking the same thing."

"It's final then," Lando announced. "I'll take Lobot, Dexter, and Jim back to Coruscant to get some equipment. Meanwhile, you two can try to see if there are other alternatives. Don't hesitate to try something, even if it makes my trip for the force field generators useless. No reason we can't have two plans of attack."

Half an hour later the Lady Luck shot off into space leaving Mansenchin, Herta, Jalence, Yova, and Trince on the asteroid. A thousand light years away, two other ships shot off into hyperspace, but they planned on adding to the population of the large asteroid.

***

Frowinger checked the status of his four shuttles before giving the command to jump to hyperspace. Frowinger had no rank. He had never gone to the academy. His world had been taken over by the Empire when he was only fourteen. As an IQ kid genius, he had been in an advanced education facility. When the Empire found out his unique intellect they recruited him into their science department. Frowinger had been surrounded by older academy graduates and had felt intimidated. Dr. Kendel had taken the youth under his wing and taught him a few things. When Frowinger was sixteen and Kendel was relocated to the Hastrin base, Frowinger thought that his life was over, but Kendel requested that Frowinger be transferred as well. Ever since Frowinger had made giant leaps forward in physics and medicine.

Frowinger's lack of rank didn't prevent him from being in charge of this expedition. The lowest ranking storm trooper in his group technically out-ranked him, but Thrawn had personally placed him in command and their wasn't anyone who was going to buck that command. Everyone had an enormous amount of respect for Thrawn, and everyone who knew Frowinger, had just about as much respect for him.

Frowinger's lack of rank didn't mean that he had no military experience either. Tallon had recognized Frowinger's intellect and his youth and decided that he could make a great officer. Frowinger had accompanied Snotzenexer on several military drills and had proved Tallon correct at being quick on the uptake in military tactics as well as in science. It was that tactical prowess that had Frowinger in command of one hundred storm troopers, over three times as many as the thirty that Thrawn had recommended.

Frowinger had looked at the information pertaining to the asteroid mine and had come to the conclusion that it would be next to impossible to get past the traps and guards set up at the facility. If it wasn't for the fact that he had recently worked on the ysalamiri with Dr. Kendel, the idea that the Jedi might be part of the mining team would have never entered his mind. To defeat Jedi you needed a few more than thirty storm troopers.

Frowinger saw that all of the shuttles checked in as ready, and he gave the order to jump.

***

The camp on the asteroid was calm for the next few days. Trince and Yova spent a lot of their time down by the worm. They had still not seen the monstrosity, which was fine as far as they were concerned. On third day after Lando had left, Trince and Yova decided that they would try to get past the worm. They invited Mansenchin to come along.

The trip to the end of the tunnel was made shorter by the use of a small personnel transport that Dexter had deemed safe for the tunnels. They stopped the transport a few hundred meters short of the end of the tunnel. Mansenchin had never been to the end yet and was a little to eager to get a glimpse of the creature.

"If all goes well, we won't see the worm," Yova said, bursting Mansenchin's bubble. As they approached the end, Yova slowed her pace, and the other's fell in step.

"It hunts through vibrations," Trince whispered to Mansenchin, "so we have to approach it in a slightly unique way." Trince paused. "Don't be alarmed."

Mansenchin was about to question Trince's last statement, when he took his next step. His foot did not connect with the stone. He glanced down, startled, at his feet. They were hovering a few inches above the cave floor. Mansenchin took another hesitant step forward, testing his new elevation. His foot reached out to push off something, and his toes reached down slowly and connected lightly with the floor. He pushed off gently, careful to make as little noise as possible. After a few more practice steps, he felt confident and quickened his pace slightly. The walking technique was similar to what he had dreamed walking on water would be like. Pushing off with each step, but finding only a semi-tangible surface from which to propel yourself.

Trince and Yova waited patiently for Mansenchin to acquire his walking technique and then continued forward. Soon a large cavern was visible in the distance. Mansenchin could see that the tunnel was indeed fifty meters in diameter, as Dexter had predicted. The enormous worm tunnel crossed the path of the trio's small route at a right angle and disappeared into the darkness in either direction. The middle of the large second tunnel was at the same level as the trio, making it look like a huge dry river bed running by.

Trince and Yova stood at the edge of the deep canal at looked longingly at the other side, only fifty meters away. Mansenchin stood only slightly behind them and voiced his opinion. "Can't we just float across?"

Yova shook her head. "We're not sure if it knows we're here or not. We were careful, but if it has more sensitive nerves than we thought, it could very easily come charging out of the darkness when we are suspended over the middle."

Mansenchin nodded and peered over to the far side of the side cavern. The smaller tunnel continued on after the fifty meter expanse and curved out of sight. "So how are we getting across?"

"Yova is trying to soothe the savage beast, and I'm trying to disguise our presence," Trince said in a strained whisper. "We'd appreciate silence. It'll take a few minutes."

***

Herta entered the communications tower, walked over to her husband, and kissed him on the cheek. She remained leaning on the back of his chair and scanned the screen he was looking at. "Good afternoon, hun."

"Oh, morning, dear."

Herta frowned. "Jalence, it's sixteen hundred. Morning's gone; afternoon is waning; and it is nigh unto night."

The last comment from Herta broke Jalence's spell, and he turned away from the screen he had been staring at. "Sorry, I was a little distracted. What did you say?"

Herta sighed and shrugged. Men, she thought, but then her attention was pulled to the screen as well. "That hypercom echo," she said, pointing to the lower right hand corner of the screen, "that means that-"

"That ships are approaching in hyperspace," Jalence finished for her. "We are out of the space lines, so unless someone is lost, we're going to get visitors, in about two minutes."

Herta was puzzled. Few knew of this mining outpost, and even fewer would have a reason to arrive unannounced. "I suppose we should go outside and great our visitors."

***

Frowinger watched as the hyperspace countdown changed from minutes to seconds and then down to nothing. The starlines shrank down to dots, and the Imperial mining complex Cryst 32 filled the forward view. Reports rang in from all of the shuttles' stations.

"Their is a large oxygen shield surrounding the entire asteroid."

"There appears to be only a few small buildings set up on the face of the asteroid."

"Sensors only report two life signs on the surface, but the sensors can't penetrate the asteroid."

"Two people are visible on the surface."

Frowinger studied the scene in front of him. There was indeed very few buildings of any great stature. Frowinger thought for a few seconds about taking out the communications tower, but decided that the nearest planet that could respond to a distress was days away at best. Besides, if the miners hadn't penetrated past the defenses yet, then the Empire could still use the asteroid. "Bring the shuttles down in front of the radio tower, and be ready for an immediate, armed dissembarkment."

***

Jalence and Herta stood transfixed, staring at the four Imperial shuttles descending onto, what they had considered over the past month to be their asteroid. "Welcome home doesn't quite seem adequate," Herta said. Jalence remained frozen to the ground.

The couple had no weapons other than a large laser mining drill, which neither of them knew how to operate. The shuttles touched down and emptied their contents onto the barren rock. Jalence and Herta put up no fight and raised their arms in a gesture of unconditional surrender. Storm troopers swarmed around them, keeping the couple always in their gun sights. Groups of four troopers searched each of the buildings. One group came back with a small box of crystals, and another group brought back a few blaster rifles that neither Herta nor Jalence had been aware of.

No one spoke to either captive. Finally, the ring of storm troopers around them opened, allowing an important looking man to approach the couple. Jalence was somewhat familiar with the Empire, and it didn't look like that this man was wearing an Imperial uniform.

"Are you the only two on this asteroid?" Frowinger asked, getting right to the point.

Jalence still hadn't found his voice, so Herta felt that it was her job to be the spokesman, although she didn't know if she should answer the question. They wouldn't believe "no" without proof, and she had none. If she answered "yes," she would be betraying her friends' trust. She remained silent.

Frowinger was no idiot, and he knew Herta's dilemma. "I expected as much." He turned to an officer not in storm trooper armor. "Captain, send twenty-five men down into the tunnels with the speeders. I assume you have obtained the codes and locations for all of the traps. If they have penetrated into the mines, blow them up." The captain nodded and motioned for several of the encircled group of storm troopers to follow him.

Jalence finally managed to speak. "What about us?"

Frowinger smiled at the way his voice cracked. "Is that what you care about?" He decided to play with his captive. "Your skin is valuable to you, eh? Maybe you should have thought of that before you trespassed on OUR asteroid. What about your friends? Do you not care for them?" Frowinger was allowed to be cocky when he had Thrawn and Tallon to back him. "I'll not kill you, yet. If everyone on this rock dies, then who will there be to tell of the exploits of the Empire?"

"Your storm troopers are all dead, and you don't even know it!" Jalence blurted out much to Herta's disappointment.

Frowinger smiled as he recognized this threat for what it was. "Ah, the Jedi are in the tunnels. I almost forgot." Jalence's face turned ashen. Frowinger turned to another officer. "Commander, you better send another twenty-five troopers, to thwart the mighty Jedi," he said with more than a little contempt.

Frowinger turned back to the couple to find a foot aimed at his head. Herta was an expert in Corellian hand-to-hand combat. Frowinger stumbled backwards as Herta's heel connected solidly with his face. Even with his limited military experience, Frowinger was no slouch with a weapon. His draw was one of the fastest in the Empire. Herta found this out the hard way, as Frowinger fired almost before Herta knew he had drawn his side arm. Her knee buckled as the bolt of energy shattered her patella.

Jalence gave a startled yip as his wife crumpled at his feet. He bent over to help her, but his anger got the best of him, and he straightened up to charge Frowinger. Ten storm troopers grabbed him from all sides and forced him to the ground.

Frowinger wiped the blood from his face and spit at Herta. "Take them into one of those buildings," he said to one of the troopers, "and make sure they don't cause any trouble."

***

Yova suddenly jerked up from her crouched stance. "Someone is coming. No, many people are coming, fast."

Mansenchin looked at her, trying to discern more information from her facial expressions. "Who?"

"Unknown, but they're definitely hostile."

Trince pulled his lightsaber from his belt but didn't ignite it, not wanting to give away their position. Mansenchin was carrying a lantern on a long pole, and he detached the lantern and prepared himself to use the four foot metal pole for a weapon. Yova kept her lightsaber on her hip and continued to try to make contact with the cave worm, knowing that if there was going to be a battle, it would be next to impossible to keep the beast from making an appearance.

Trince could feel the enemy presence only a few seconds before he could hear them. He could hear them only a few seconds before they rounded the bend in the tunnel. The first few storm troopers on the bikes had only a few seconds after they rounded the bend before Trince lopped of the front of their speeders with his lightsaber and they crashed into the wall.

After Mansenchin and Trince dismounted ten bikers, rendering them either unconscious or out of the battle, the rest of the storm troopers stopped well before the duo. About ten of the remaining storm troopers began firing their riffles while the other five were working on a large piece of equipment.

"Get behind me!" Trince yelled at Mansenchin. Mansenchin didn't waste any time complying to the Jedi's plea as blaster bolts streaked past. Trince worked furiously to deflect all of the close shots, and Mansenchin could see that he was tiring quickly.

Yova came up from behind them with her lightsaber lit and began to help. "It's coming," she said. Neither Trince nor Mansenchin needed the "it" to be clarified.

"How long do we have?"

"Not long."

"Then it's now or never," Trince turned to Mansenchin. "How fast can you run? It's a little under eighty meters, half down-hill, half up-hill."

Mansenchin shrugged, but understood that they were short on time. He turned to find the ditch right behind him. His first step found him going down faster than he had thought, and he fell, tumbling down to the bottom. He sat up and could feel the ground trembling beneath him. He looked to his left and right into the blackness of the tunnel, expecting to see the huge worm shoot into view with its teeth baring. A yell from Yova got Mansenchin back on his feet, and he scrambled up the steep opposite side.

Trince and Yova stood on the edge of the ditch fending the fire of the troopers. Trince had managed to ricochet three bolts back to their point of origin, but the remaining seven kept firing. Yova began to play with their minds and vision, and the elite storm troopers' aim began to look like normal credit-a-dozen storm troopers' aim.

Yova took this opportunity to leap backwards over the edge. She skied down the side on a cushion of air, letting her momentum carry her halfway up the other side. Yova scrambled up the rest of the way to where Mansenchin was standing.

The storm troopers began to charge Trince when they realized that their aim was off. Trince leaped backwards into the air, flipping high and landing gracefully in the middle of the ditch. The seven troopers wasted no time following him into the ditch, fairing little better than Mansenchin had. Trince stood ready to meet the oncoming charge, when a yell from Yova brought him to his senses. He sensed something large coming in fast from his right. One glance at the storm troopers told Trince that they were oblivious to their predicament. Trince filled himself with the force and flipped thirty meters up and back. He had barely landed on the far cliff when a huge, grayish mass shot past, filling the entire ditch. Trince stumbled backwards when he landed and sat only a few meters from the edge. He scrambled back and away from the fleshy worm that was still traveling past at a terrific speed.

It took almost a minute for the entire length of the worm to pass by. Yova estimated its length at a little over two kilometers. Mansenchin scrambled to the edge of the ditch to see what was left of the storm troopers. Mansenchin could see only a few red smears and some bits of white armor. Those storm troopers were gone.

Trince was right behind Mansenchin, figuring on disposing the remaining five storm troopers. He was just about to leap across, when Yova grabbed his shoulder. "What is it?" he asked.

Yova didn't say anything, but pointed at the five storm troopers, who were currently being backed up by twenty-five more. Instead of leaping across, Trince turned and ran away from the ditch as blaster bolts splattered into the floor and walls around him. The three of them rounded the far bend of the tunnel, effectively putting them selves out of sight from the firing storm troopers. They meant to keep running but the came up against a huge metal slab, blocking their way.

***

Captain Mistk was still in awe of what he had just seen. Seven of his best men had just been eaten by the largest monster he had ever seen. He was still staring at the empty ditch where his men no longer were when he heard a transport coming in from behind him. He turned around to see twenty-five more storm troopers coming in.

Commander Skrinned walked up to him. "It seems you were met by a little resistance. How many were there?"

"Only three," the Captain said, "But I gathered that two of them were Jedi. Our biggest loss came at the hands, or I should say the mouth of a huge beast that is guarding the other side."

The Commander walked up to the edge of the ditch and examined the scene. "A giant cave worm. The report on this asteroid said nothing about a worm."

The Captain stood behind him. "I trust what I saw with my own eyes, and I'm not sending any more men across that ditch."

"Agreed," the Commander stood up and turned back toward the device that Mistk's men were just finishing with.

"I have orders to blow up this cavern," the Captain said, "and I intend to do just that." Mistk walked up to the large bomb. He punched in his activation code on the keypad, and a small panel slide open, revealing a digital display. He set the time for fifteen minutes. After all of the troopers had boarded the transport, Mistk initiated the timer.

***

Jalence and Herta had been herded into the make-shift mess hall. Frowinger was pacing in front of them, sucking on his split lip. Jalence had tried to talk to Frowinger, telling him that the Jedi would defeat any attack that his storm troopers could muster. His tone was somewhat subdued due to the fact that it is hard to trash talk someone when you are tied to a chair, your wife has passed-out from the pain in her leg, and you're surrounded by twenty armed storm troopers.

Frowinger only half listened to Jalence's rambling, he was more concerned that they would have to blow up this valuable outpost. He knew that it was the best choice and that the alternative of letting future New Republic mining teams have access to the facility was definitely worse.

The com on Frowinger's belt beeped twice, and he reacted accordingly. "Report."

"I've set the bomb for fifteen minutes, sir. We took heavy casualties, twenty."

"What of the Jedi?"

"No casualties to report, sir. Although they have no way to leave the tunnels before the bomb goes off."

"Very, well. Frowinger out." He turned to face Jalence, planning to respond to his boasts for the first time. "Do you like your Jedi well done or extra crispy."

Jalence tried spit at Frowinger, but Frowinger saw it coming and slapped him. Frowinger turned to his men. "We've got about ten minutes to leave. I want everyone back in the shuttles now." He was the last one out of the building and turned back to Jalence before he left. "Don't worry, the bomb shouldn't take out the entire asteroid. You and you're one legged friend here, still have a chance."

The door slammed close, and Jalence was left alone before he could respond.

***

Trince, Yova, and Mansenchin made their way back to the edge of the cliff when they were sure that the Imperials had left. They had waited ten minutes extra just to be safe. Mansenchin scanned the other side. He could see multiple crashed speeders and three dead storm troopers that the Imperials had left behind to rot. "It's just like the Imperials not to clean up when they leave."

"Why did they leave?" Trince asked, puzzled.

"Trince," Yova said, and Trince picked up the edge in her tone. "I don't like the looks of this. That black box over there-"

Trince could see it now too, and he was picking up the same negative ripple that Yova was. Two quick leaps brought Trince safely to the other side. Yova was close behind, but Mansenchin was more hesitant, both because of his last trip and the knowledge of the cave worm.

Trince ran up to the bomb and recognized it for what it was immediately. The digital readout proclaimed that they had about a minute left to live. "What is it?" Yova asked as she ran up to him. "Not again," she added when she saw what it was, remembering their last encounter with a bomb.

"It's too big," Trince said, "I can't maneuver it down the tunnel like I did before."

"What if you had you had a bigger tunnel."

"Like wha-" Trince started, but realized what she was talking about. "We don't know where it goes."

"But we do know what will happen if we leave it here."

Trince surrendered, and the two of them moved the bomb to the edge of the ditch. Fearing that he was missing something important, Mansenchin decided that now would be a good time to become brave and cross the ditch. He was more careful this time and didn't fall until his second step. Yova saw Mansenchin fall to the bottom of the ditch and yelled at him. "You'll bring the worm back!" Sure enough, Yova could feel the worm acknowledging their presence and begin his trip for another pass.

Trince glanced at the clock and saw that there was thirty seconds left. He quickly used the Force to lift Mansenchin out of the ditch and then moved the bomb to the middle of the large tunnel. The bomb moved slowly down the tunnel at first, but as Trince fell deeper and deeper into his Force trance the bomb began to accelerate faster.

Yova felt the worm nearing and she put a Force cloak over Trince so he wouldn't be distracted when it came past, which it did only a few seconds later. Yova thought that the worm would slow when it realized that its meal was no longer in the ditch, but she sensed that it still had a meal. It was then that she realized that the worm was chasing the bomb. Trince realized this too, and he could feel the worm catching up to it. He pushed the bomb with all his might, ebbing as much strength out of the Force that he could. The worm was incredibly strong, and being over two kilometers, it had a lot of leverage to propel itself. If the worm caught the bomb before it reached a safe distance, it would likely slow down or even return. Trince couldn't let that happen.

Yova realized her partner's predicament, and she began helping him. With their combined strength they were able to increase the distance between the bomb and the worm to four hundred meters before the bomb exploded.

The shock wave shook the entire asteroid. Trince, still exhausted from propelling the bomb, tensed himself for the potential of the tunnel collapsing. The tremor passed and the cavern they were in stayed intact. Trince did a quick mental check on all of the traps, and was glad to find that they were still secured. He turned to face Yova and found her with a puzzled expression on her face. "What is it?"

"The worm," she started, "it's gone."

"Dead?"

"No, just gone."

Mansenchin walked up to the pair. "Where?"

Yova shook her head. "I don't know."

***

"Five minutes until detonation, sir," Captain Mistk reported. Frowinger nodded his head. He, the Captain and his remaining five troops were the last shuttle of the asteroid.

Frowinger made his way to the cockpit. "Pilot," he said once he arrived, "see if you can knock out the communications tower before we leave. The bomb might not take it out."

The pilot complied. It took only a few seconds to get into position, and the shuttle fired two accurate shots into the base of the tower. The building and all the computers in it, burst into flames. The tower itself, buckled and came crashing down on top of the mess hall. Frowinger smiled at the thought of Jalence trapped under the large tower.

The fleet of four shuttles circled the asteroid to get into position to jump into hyperspace. After all four shuttles had calculated the jump, Frowinger decided to wait and make sure that the bomb went off. He watched the timer count down on a panel in the cock pit: four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . zero.

In front of him the surface of the asteroid exploded and flame shot out of the rock in a kilometer long plume, consuming the first shuttle. The second shuttle just avoided the eruption of flame, but exploded a few seconds later when a one hundred ton chunk of asteroid slammed into it.

"Pull up! Pull up!" Frowinger screamed, and the last two shuttles just avoided the explosion. "We must go back!"

"Sir, look!" Mistk shouted and pointed out of the rear view. The cave worm was coming out of the huge hole. Its head was burnt black, and its mouth was open revealing its many ten-meter teeth. "Sir, it's gaining on us."

Frowinger's shuttle was now in the lead, and the other shuttle was almost over taken by the enraged cave worm. "We have to jump out now or we'll be dead!"

Frowinger hesitated only long enough for the forward view to become dark from the inside of the worm's mouth. Frowinger could see the teeth closing in front of them, and he didn't waste any more time. "Hyperspace!" he yelled.

Both shuttles burst forward into hyperspace, Frowinger's shuttle just squeezing between the closing jaws, and the second shuttle bursting into flames against the worm's teeth.

***

Mansenchin, Trince, and Yova emerged from the cave on foot. The Imperials had disabled their transport. They weren't encouraged with the sight of the wrecked buildings. "They're in there." Yova pointed to the mess hall, which was crushed underneath the radio tower. They all raced over to the building, Trince being the first one to reach it.

Trince began excavating the site immediately, hurling huge pieces of metal and wood in every direction. He slowed when he felt that he was getting close. Jalence moaned. Yova could see him pinned under a large piece of the tower. His arm looked broken, but his life signs were stable.

"Don't worry about me," Jalence mumbled. "I'm fine, but Herta-"

Yova felt Herta's life signs, barely. Three meters to the left she found her crushed under a pile of stone and wood. A quick Force aided injury check told Yova that Herta had several broken ribs, a punctured lung, a crushed pelvis, her left leg was broken in three places, and her right knee was blown apart and burned. Yova could tell that this last injury hadn't occurred from the collapse, and she cursed the Imperials' needless brutality. She quickly threw off her anger and focused on the task at hand. "Trince help me with Herta, but be careful. She's in trouble."

Trince moved next to the pile and lifted the entire mess off the injured woman at once. He gently pulled away the stone and wood, clearing her body by three meters before hurling the mess twenty meters to the left.

"Mans," Yova yelled to Mansenchin, "Help me get Herta over to one of the other buildings." The strong man scooped up Herta in his arms and hurried after Yova toward one of the living quarters.

Trince knew that Yova was very good at healing with the Force, so he stayed with Jalence. After he had freed Jalence, the two of them made their way to the building where Mansenchin had taken Herta. Jalence was limping badly, and Trince could see that his pants were becoming soaked with blood.

When they came to the door of the building Trince stopped. "I know you're concerned about your wife, but the best thing you can do for her is to let Yova care for her." Jalence nodded, and the two of them went through the doors.

Jalence was stunned at the sight of his wife laying broken on the table, and it was only Jalence's weakened condition and Trince's words that kept him from rushing to her side. Trince too was awe-struck. Yova had removed Herta's shirt revealing her torn and bloody side. Several ribs were protruding though her skin, broken and warped. Her pants had been cut off at mid-thigh and her knee was a sickly site. The kneecap itself was gone and the flesh missing, exposing the vulnerable joint. Her other leg was black and blue and obviously broken.

Trince helped Jalence over to a bed and got him comfortable before he went over to see if he could help Yova. Yova was in the process of pushing the ribs back into place. Trince noticed that Yova had first placed Herta in a Force coma, rendering her almost breathless and with a very slow heartbeat. Trince was certain that Yova could heal her, but it would take a long time. He wished that Lando would come back soon, but he knew that Lando was still a few days from Coruscant and he would still have to make the return trip. Trince looked again at Herta's wounds. They would make it.

***

The Lady Luck dropped out of hyperspace two and a half days short of Coruscant. On Lobot's suggestion, Lando decided to check the planet of Farnestic for supplies before going to Coruscant, perhaps shortening their trip by several days.

Lando got in contact with the flight control and received clearance to land in one of the major cities. Farnestic was known as a friendly place and quite rich. It was on these two pieces of information that Lobot rested his case for stopping here. They could have picked up the material anywhere, but Lando didn't have the money available, and had to buy everything on credit. Lando knew that he would have the money once he got at the crystals. Coruscant also knew this, and they had more than a little respect for Lando as businessman. Anywhere else other than Coruscant would likely turn him away without even considering Lando's case. The universe was turning into a "cash on purchase" kind of place. Lando understood these planet's concerns and he was quite content with spending the extra days in hyperspace to get to Coruscant.

Lobot argued that Farnestic, being a member of the New Republic, was likely to be sympathetic towards Lando's cause. Also being a rich planet, they might also be more willing and able to deal in credit.

Lando set the Lady Luck down into the hanger he had been appointed to, and the troop exited the ship and entered the streets of Strempix, the third largest city on Farnestic. It didn't take long for them to find a military outpost. It took even less time for Lando to get permission to speak with a general. And Dexter was sure Lando set a record for the shortest business conversation, when Lando emerged two minutes later with a smile on his face.

They spent the rest of the day loading the Lady Luck with supplies. That night before they left, Lando got permission from the general to send a holo message to Coruscant.

Lando waited patiently while the connection was established, his security codes were confirmed, and for someone to pick up at the other end. Wedge's face appeared and Lando smiled, noticing Wedge's hair. Apparently he had woken the Admiral. "I'm sorry, Wedge. Did I wake you? It's tough to remember Coruscant's time table."

"Yes you did wake me, but it is the middle of the day. I was only taking a nap. Just about to get up anyway. What do you want?"

"Napping in the middle of the day? You must be pretty worn out. What's going on?"

Wedge spent the next five minutes telling Lando about Luke and Han, the situation with Leia, and about the tragedy in the Danzig system. Lando was shocked. The New Republic hadn't been in this much trouble since they had fought against the Empire, and Lando told Wedge as much.

"I agree," Wedge replied. "It's unbelievable that these events could all come so close."

"Come on, Wedge," Lando said. "These events didn't happen independently. I'm willing to bet a trillion credits that the same people are involved with all of them. If this is the Empire, and it looks like it is, then they got someone in charge who really knows his stuff. They managed to capture or detain the New Republic's three most important people in the time of one week. If I didn't know that he was dead, I'd say that Thrawn is back in charge. Is there anything I can do?"

Wedge shook his head. "Right now we're not even doing anything. There's nothing we can do except wait. Besides, if the Empire is back in business, then I suggest you get back to your mining complex as quick as possible. They might pay you a visit."

The reality of Wedge's warning dawned on him, and Lando realized that if the Imperials attacked while he was away, the asteroid was more than a little vulnerable. Lando wished Wedge luck in his endeavors and quickly closed the connection. With out asking, he sent another message out to the asteroid. An error message came up on the screen saying that the message was not being received.

Lando bolted from the room and raced back to his ship. Getting clearance to leave, Lando took his ship out of the hanger and rocketed out into space. After the jump was calculated, the Lady Luck disappeared into space.

Lando got little to no sleep during the trip, and when the ship reentered normal space three days later, Lando's anxiety had increased ten-fold. When the asteroid came into view Lando's pulse skipped. His fingers flew over buttons in the cockpit while his eyes stayed transfixed on the sight of the downed tower and crushed buildings. His hands stopped they're frantic scrambling, and he looked at the readout to see the result: five life signs.

Lando breathed a sigh of relief. "Now the question is, 'Whose five life signs are those?'" Lobot spoke from behind him, quite emotionlessly. Lando spun around to find Lobot and Jim standing behind him.

"What are you talking about?"

"It is quite evident that there has been some action here while we were gone. To think that this was a simple equipment malfunction would put a lot of distrust in your people. It is much more likely that there was a second party involved. There is no more reason to believe that those five people are ours than there is to believe that they are not ours."

"Jim," Lando said, "remind me next time I need an emotional boost, to keep Lobot off of my list of people to call."

Lando wasted no time in getting the ship on the ground and was greatly relieved to see Trince and Jalence come out to greet him. After listening to Lobot, he half expected to be met by storm troopers. Lando saw that Jalence was wearing a sling, and both of them were wearing grim faces.

"We had a little visit while you were gone," Jalence informed him.

"I hope you took a message for me."

Trince nodded. "Get off or else."

"Who?" Lando asked.

"Imperials," Jalence said. "We can tell you all about it when we get inside."

Lando followed the pair into one of the living quarters while the rest of the crew began unloading the ship. Once inside Lando saw Herta. Her face was drawn and tired, but she was sitting up and smiled at Lando.

Jalence told Lando what had happened up on the surface and Trince informed him about what had occurred in the tunnels. Trince also told Lando about how Yova had meditated afterwards and discovered what had happened to the Imperials.

"It seems that we had sent the bomb to the edge of the asteroid. When it blew, it took out two of the shuttles. The worm had been chasing the bomb and chased it right out into open space. It got one of the remaining shuttles, and the other one made it into hyperspace."

"Have you been down there since it all happened?"

"No," Jalence answered, "we've been too busy trying to rebuild. Mans and Yova are preparing dinner right now."

"I think we should try to get down there as soon as possible," Lando said. "There's obviously something down there that is pretty valuable. I don't think that crystals justify bringing in one hundred storm troopers. Plus, the New Republic is having serious problems with the Empire right now, and if there is information down there, it could prove very useful. Time is a precious commodity."

As precious as time was, food was more precious, and they waited until after dinner to make the trip. Trince and Lando were the only people not occupied with the injured, or injured themselves, so they went alone. The other transport they still had made for a speedy trip down, and it wasn't long until they were standing in front of the same metal wall that had stopped them three days previous. Trince mentally searched for any traps and found none. He had not expected any, but always liked to play it safe.

"Is there some device to open this door?" Lando asked, examining the wall around the door.

"Yes," Trince said, "right here." He unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and made short work of the door.

Lando and Trince stepped through the smoldering door and into another world. The walls of the room were covered with computers. The room itself looked like the inside of a spaceship, without any rock to be seen. There were several doors in the room that Lando guessed led to other similar rooms. "Jack pot."

****

Chapter 13 "Kidnapped"

Chief Sangrine looked at the scene with more than a little confusion. Why would someone break into one of their embassy buildings without stealing anything, not that there was anything worth stealing anyway. None of it made any sense. He had talked with the guard who had discovered the intruder and had received little information. The sex of the intruder was still up for grabs.

His men were still searching the place for finger prints or hair for a DNA sample. Sangrine had been sure that they would find something because the thief appeared to have been so careless. However, as it became clear that they wouldn't find any evidence, he began to think that there was something more here than just a simple fudged robbery attempt. He walked out to the landing pad where the Millennium Falcon was sitting and where the thief was reported to have entered and exited.

The Chief stared at the old freighter while he was contemplating the events. An idea began to creep slowly into his head. "Has the Falcon been searched yet?" he asked a guard who was standing near him.

"Uh, no sir."

"Well do it. I want it stripped from top to bottom. Don't break anything, but I want you to find each dust bunny, understand?"

The guard nodded and beckoned for a few other guards to help him.

***

This time when the guards came to take Leia away, Chewie wasn't there to protect her, Tenel Ka was.

"What are you doing, Chief?" Tenel Ka asked as security guards put a much more relaxed Leia in cuffs.

"We agreed that Leia could remain under house arrest until we found the jewels," Sangrine told her. "We found the jewels."

"Where?"

"In the Millennium Falcon."

Tenel Ka was caught speechless. She agreed that all of the evidence pointed directly at Leia, but she couldn't help feeling some what betrayed by the Chief of security. "I will prove her innocence."

"You better be quick about it," Sangrine informed her. "The state isn't to lenient with murderers."

Tenel didn't need Sangrine to spell it out for her. She knew how strict and swiftly crime was punished in her government. While the system decreased crime, it also often punished the innocent before they could be proven as such.

Tenel Ka stood in dismay as the guards led Leia away. She prayed that she could find the proof she needed, but doubted she would.

***

Laya smiled as she read the news report. She had tapped directly into the main computer system of the city and was sitting comfortably in her ship while the days events scrolled in front of her. Leia had been arrested again. This time she wouldn't be let out on bail. The evidence Laya had piled up against the President of the New Republic was indisputable.

Laya was still smiling when the latest bit of news scrolled up. Her smile quickly faded. Leia was scheduled for execution tomorrow morning. No! They wouldn't execute the head of the New Republic. Not without a trial. This information had to be wrong. Laya did a quick back check on the report's source and found it to be authentic.

Leia couldn't die. That would ruin everything. Laya's computer mind raced for a way out. She couldn't let Leia die. Thrawn wouldn't allow it.

***

Leia was laying on the cot in her cell, knowing that she wouldn't find the sleep she was looking for. Her mind tried to replay the night of the robbery, but it was all a blur. As the hours crawled by, she almost convinced herself that she had indeed committed the hideous crime.

The knock on her door came in the middle of the night. Leia guessed that it was about three in the morning. What would they want from her at this hour. The knock came again. Leia soon realized the futility of the knocking. She couldn't open the door from the inside anyway. Her puzzlement was soon over when the door opened and a dark figure rushed in.

"Are you awake? You have to get out of here?" The voice was female and oddly familiar. It was dark and Leia couldn't make out the face of her visitor. Leia used the Force to get a feel for her, but she didn't show up as a presence in the Force, almost like she had no life energy.

Leia, although she hadn't gotten any sleep, was tired and groggy. "What do you mean?"

"I'm here to rescue you. You've got to escape."

Leia woke quickly. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not guilty of the charges. Running will only make me look guilty."

"Don't be stupid!" Leia couldn't even see her rescuer's mouth move. Leia figured that she had some kind of mask on. "They're going to execute you tomorrow."

"What?!" Leia hadn't been informed of that. She was sure that they would have told her if this was to be her last night. "I'm not going to be exe-"

Laya had no more patience. She grabbed Lea's wrist and jerked her off the cot. "We are going, now!"

Leia couldn't free herself from the iron grip, and the idea that she was scheduled for execution, scared her more than a little bit. She allowed herself to be dragged from the cell.

Outside the door, Leia could see to guards lying unconscious or dead on the ground. The pair moved swiftly through a maze of corridors, occasionally passing a few guards who were lying motionless on the floor. Leia noticed in the dark that they were moving through a lot of little used corridors and back storage rooms. They finally came to a door that led outside. One swift kick from Laya removed the door from its hinges, and they were outside.

Leia stopped. "What about all of my stuff? They still have my lightsaber." Without a word Laya tossed the pack she had been wearing to Leia. A quick check revealed that her lightsaber and clothes were inside. Laya insisted that they hurry, and Leia had no choice but to follow.

They had exited the back of the prison facility and were on the edge of town. They ran up the side of a grassy knoll and were soon over it and out of site. Leia stopped running and regarded her companion for the first time.

"Who are you?"

Laya removed her mask. Leia gasped as she looked into the perfect likeness of herself. "I'm you." Before Leia could react, Laya rendered her unconscious with a swift blow to the neck. Laya heaved Lea's limp form onto her shoulder as though she weighed no more than a heavy coat and continued away from the city.

***

Sangrine woke to quite a surprise. Not one alarm had gone off, and the prisoner was missing. He had gone to the security wing of the department only to find twenty unconscious guards and one prisoner missing. They had a short video of the actual rescue. A masked person shot a blaster set on maximum stun at both guards in front of the cell. The person then opened the cell door quite effortlessly, and a few moments later, emerged with Princess Leia.

"Sir," a lieutenant pulled him away from the video, "we have located the door from which they left the building, but it is undetermined where they went from there."

Sangrine nodded, knowing that they were dealing with a professional. "Lieutenant Stranch, I want you to officially drop all charges against Princess Leia, and I want you to send a sincere apology to her government."

"Ah," smiled Stranch, "you wish to draw her out. Make it look like we don't want her anymore."

"I don't need to explain my orders to you. But you do need to carry them out."

"Yes, sir." Stranch clicked his heals smartly and left.

Sangrine knew that he would receive another visit from Princess Tenel Ka as soon as word that the charges had been dropped came out. He was not disappointed when two hours after he had given the order, Tenel Ka followed by a large wookiee came bursting into his office. "Yes, Princess."

"Don't play with me Chief. I could get you in big trouble for this." The wookiee bellowed his opinion, and Sangrine didn't need a translation to understand that Chewie agreed with Tenel Ka.

"I believe that you should listen to what I have to say, Princess."

"No! You listen to me. You're setting a trap for Leia, and not only will it not work, but it will ruin your reputation."

"I agree that I set a trap, but it was not for Leia. Besides, the trap has already been sprung, and the prey has gotten away."

"What are you talking about?"

"Princess Tenel Ka, I dropped the charges against Leia because I truly believe that she is innocent. The guilty person is the one who rescued her."

Chewie growled a comment, and Tenel Ka repeated it in Basic. "Explain yourself."

"Certainly. I do not know if you are aware of the New Republic's current troubles, but as Chief of Security in the capital of the Hapes Cluster, I have to stay informed as to what's going on in all of our allied systems. Right now the New Republic is being assailed from all sides by an unknown adversary. First there is Princess Lea's condition of being convicted of a heinous crime, then a fleet of New Republic ships were destroyed in an unknown cluster while inspecting reported Imperial activity, and finally Luke Skywalker and Han Solo have disappeared."

After this final bit of news, Chewie let out a furious roar. Sangrine had expected all of the outbursts by his guests except this one. Sangrine knew of Chewie's connection to Han, but he didn't understand the depth of that friendship. Tenel Ka turned around to try to calm the enraged wookiee.

"Chewbacca, we have to help Leia now. There's nothing we can do for Han right now. I'm sure the New Republic is doing everything they can to find him. Luke will be able to take care of him."

After Chewie had settled down into a somewhat subdued state, Sangrine continued. "Well, I thought that all of these things happening at once was a pretty big coincidence, and I had started to have my doubts as to why Leia would commit such a crime." Sangrine held up a hand to stop Tenel Ka's forthcoming statement. "I know what I said before, but at the time all of my information pointed to Leia as the guilty party.

"Now I think that Leia is being set up by the same people who are harassing the New Republic. I also figured that since they were framing Leia instead of trying to kill her, what ever they had planned, involved having Leia alive. I arrested Leia and posted a note on the news bulletin that she was to be executed today." Sangrine read the shock in Tenel Ka's face. "It was a bluff. I had no intention of killing the President of the New Republic even if she was guilty. My bluff worked, and who ever was framing her, rescued her last night. That was the only part of my plan that went wrong. I had heightened security as much as I could, but it didn't even slow their pace."

Tenel Ka understood, and her attitude toward the Chief changed from one of distrust to one of respect. "Now both Leia and her rescuer, who now is probably her kidnapper, are missing. My men are searching the hills and woods on the outskirts of town right now. What I need from you is if Leia comes back or escapes, I need to talk with her."

***

Laya was furious. Everything was going wrong. She had just read the report that all charges had been dropped. She saw through the trap within a trap instantly. Leia was to smart to come out of hiding just because it was reported that all the charges had been dropped. This was official. Laya had blown her cover by rescuing Leia. She should have seen the nested trap right away.

Laya stormed through the corridors of her small ship and came to the cabin where she was keeping Leia prisoner. Normally Laya would be a little nervous about holding a Jedi captive, even an untrained one like Leia, but the few ysalamiri that Thrawn had given her rendered Leia quite harmless. She opened the door and stormed in. Leia was sitting on the small bed, unprepared for this sudden intrusion. Laya walked up to her and had every intention of throttling the life from the person that was causing her all of the trouble.

Laya stopped herself with her hands on Lea's throat. Leia had taken only a few seconds to compose herself after Laya's sudden entrance. Leia didn't struggle or fight. She seemed quite content to die right here. Laya shook herself, trying to quench her rage.

"You won't win," Leia said quite calmly.

Laya backhanded her in the face, almost breaking her jaw and sending her across the room. "Tenel Ka will come for me. She is a better fighter than you."

Laya almost ran over to Leia to hit her again, but she contained herself. Tenel Ka was not a better fighter than she was. She was the best hand to hand fighter in existence. Even with the Force Tenel Ka would not win, and if she came here, the ysalamiri would keep the Force from her. Leia's words rang true, though. Tenel Ka would indeed be able to find her ship. An idea began to form in her mind.

Laya turned to Leia, who still lay in a heap where she had landed. "Tenel Ka will not come here if I go to her first."

***

Lieutenant Stranch was leading his search party through the woods. They had found no trace of Princess Leia, and he was about to give up when his short-range, hand-held sensor started beeping. "I'm picking up some metal about fifty meters that way." He pointed of toward some thick brush. "It might be her lightsaber."

Laya could here them coming toward her, and she lay motionless on the ground. When she sensed that they were within visual range, she stirred slightly. Stranch ran over to her side, and his sensor began going crazy. Stranch quickly shut it off, and Laya was glad, knowing that it wasn't the lightsaber she was wearing that was setting off the metal detector, rather her entire body.

When Stranch helped her to her feet, she made sure not to rely on his help too much, knowing that her weight would be a dead give away that she was an impostor. Still, Stranch groaned a little as Laya got to her feet. "What happened to you?"

Laya tried to portray confusion. "I don't know. I was rescued by someone. I'm not sure who he was, but he sounded like he was from this city, the way he talked. Anyway, when I was outside the building, he knocked me out, and I just woke up."

"Well if you come with me, we'll get you taken care of."

Laya smiled weakly. "Thank-you." Frowinger was no slouch at programming, and her performance was accepted without question.

Sangrine had a few questions, though.

When Laya was brought in front of the Chief, she was grilled for almost an hour before Tenel Ka came to her rescue. "Chief, why wasn't I told the instant that Leia was found."

The Chief looked up from his notes at the same pair who had burst into his office three hours earlier. "I had a few questions for the Princess and I-" the Chief stopped when he noticed that he was being ignored. Chewie ran over to Laya and gave her a hug. Laya returned the hug, though she was a little repulsed by the hairy creature.

The threesome started to leave the office when Sangrine called after them. "Wait! I'm not done."

"I think you are," Tenel Ka replied curtly.

"We still need to run some medical tests on the Princess. She might have been poisoned or hurt."

At the mention of medical tests, Laya looked at Tenel Ka with true terror. Tenel Ka took the look as the look of someone who was exhausted and was just looking for some place to relax, instead as the look of someone who was composed of sixty-five percent metal and desperately wanted to keep that fact a secret.

"All of the charges against Leia have been dropped, correct?" Sangrine nodded in defeat, knowing where Tenel Ka was going with this conversation. "Unless you think you can detain the President of the New Republic against her will, I think we will be going."

Laya mouthed a "thank-you" to Tenel Ka and they walked out of his office. A transport was waiting for them outside of the security building, and it whisked them back toward Tenel Ka's royal mansion. During the trip Laya had some deep thinking. This part of the plan was the whole reason that she was made in the likeness of Leia, but it was definitely plan B, not A. To pull off this charade she would have to be perfect, especially because she had to fool a Jedi. Laya smiled at how she had performed so far and was sure she could pull it off. This time when she committed terrorism, she would have witnesses, and there would be no question who had done it.

***

The Scavenger popped out of hyperspace a couple hundred million kilometers away from Hastrin. Jacen hovered over Jaina and Lowie like an apprehensive parent. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Trust me," Jaina said, using a phrase that she had started to use too flippantly. "I saw this in a holo-vid once."

Jacen frowned. "That's fiction. Our father and uncle's lives hang in the balance here."

"I'm sorry," Jaina confessed. "I guess I'm starting to act like Dad." Jacen knew what she was talking about. They had heard plenty of stories from their mom and uncle about how no matter how dire the situation, their father had always had a witty comment. Jacen knew that such a comment could break the tension of such a situation and allow everyone to perform better, but he felt that it was inappropriate in this situation.

Jacen had the feeling that this whole mission was his to complete. He knew that it was because of his ego, which had swelled to enormous proportions throughout his years at the Academy. But for as many times as his teachers told him that he was fallible and not indestructible, he would go ahead and exceed their expectations. Now things were different. This was his first official Jedi mission. He had had several adventures while he was still in the Academy, but this was his first mission as a graduate. Jacen also knew that if they got in a fight, he would be the person his friends would rely on to get them through.

Jaina was worried for her brother. She knew about the kind of responsibilities that the top students in the Academy had placed upon themselves in the past. Jacen was definitely mature enough in the Force to handle just about anything that was thrown at him, but they were only twenty-two years old, and their experiences were limited.

Lowbacca was busy with the calculations for their next jump, but he was also thinking about his friends. He could feel their eagerness mixed with their apprehension. He knew that he would have to remain solid in his resolutions and support his friends.

"What happened in that holo-vid?" Jacen asked.

"They pulled out of hyperspace too late and crashed into the side of a mountain."

"Wonderful."

Lowie growled that he was ready. "Wait," Jacen said. "Explain to me again what exactly you're going to do."

"It's simple," Jaina said, another phrase she used all too often. "From this distance we can accurately calculate the speed and projected positions of all the ships orbiting the planet. The goal is to calculate a hyperspace jump so we renter normal space inside the planet's atmosphere, past the fleet, and under their sensor grid."

"I thought a hyperspace computer had built in safeties that didn't allow that."

"They do, but Lowie and I programmed this hyperspace computer ourselves. We can easily override the safeties." Jaina pressed the last few buttons before the jump. "Well here goes nothing."

"No, here goes everything," Jacen corrected.

The scavenger disappeared. Thirty-five point two nine two seconds later it reappeared skimming over the tree tops of Hastrin. Lowie had aimed the ship at the edge of the planet, so if they over shot it, they wouldn't collide. Now that they had reentered normal space, the gravity of Hastrin was pulling at them, demanding the collision that they had so far avoided. Jaina pulled back desperately on the altitude stick, trying to pull them away from the trees. Lowbacca decreased the velocity, and together they managed to bring the ship under control.

They continued to speed over the tree tops making their way around the planet. A mountain range loomed large on the horizon. All three Jedi looked at each other, knowing that this was where Han and Luke were being held. Lowie set the Scavenger down a few kilometers from the mountain and the trio disembarked and started to hike the rest of the way.

***

Tallon's communicator beeped twice, and reached across his desk to receive the message. "Yes?"

"Sir, about three minutes ago we picked up an unidentified ship dropping out of hyperspace. It appeared to be some type of civilian vessel. It reentered hyperspace two minutes later on a trajectory that would bring it dangerously close to Hastrin. Our sensors have not detected it since it reentered hyperspace. It seems insignificant, but you requested all local traffic to be reported."

"Very good. It might indeed seem insignificant, but I would like you to double security personnel around the perimeter of the base for the rest of the next shift, just the same."

"Very well, sir." Tallon ended the communication. These next few hours could prove to be very interesting. Tallon was glad that Thrawn had insisted on surrounding the mountain base with ysalamiri. The atmospheric hyperspace jump that was necessary would be near impossible, but Jedi loved to surprise their enemies. Tallon had actually expected this rescue attempt earlier. Tallon left a message for Thrawn concerning the situation. Just before he left his office, Tallon had an after thought and left a second message for Kendel, telling him he might be receiving new patients by the end of the day.

***

Jaina, Jacen, and Lowbacca were crouched at the edge of a clearing. Lowbacca had left Em-Tedee on the Scavenger. They were just inside the trees and staring across the four hundred meter clearing at the base nestled in between two large peaks. Several squads of storm troopers were milling about the front of the building, making themselves look busy. The Jedi knew that storm troopers were on alert twenty-four hours a day, and therefore were relatively lax in their attention span.

"I think if we circle around and approach over that steep slope," Jacen pointed at the peak on the right, "we should go relatively un-noticed." Jaina and Lowie nodded in a agreement. The reasoning was sound. The cliff the Jacen had pointed to was almost straight up. No one could climb that cliff without considerable help. The defense systems at that portion of the base, if even existent, should be mild.

The group retreated back into the trees and took an eight hundred meter detour that brought them near the cliff.

"Something is wrong," Jaina announced, but the others were thinking the same thing. "There is darkness up ahead."

"Could it be Dark Jedi?" Jacen asked.

Lowbacca shook his head and growled a negative. Jaina agreed with him.

"Well we have to keep going what ever it is," Jacen reasoned.

They trudged forward and as they reached the cliff wall, the darkness closed in on them. "I can't feel the Force," Jaina said. "There's no way I'll be able to climb this cliff."

Lowie growled that he thought he still would be able to. Jacen didn't doubt the wookiee could make good on his claim, but he voiced the opinion that they should stay together. "We'll just have to find another way in."

"How about the front door," a voice spun the trio around. While they had been staring at the cliff and considering their Forceless condition, an entire squad of storm troopers had surrounded them, trapping them against the cliff. "I could even give you an armed escort," the officer added.

Lowbacca howled a ferocious battle cry and charged the nearest group of storm troopers. Lowie had his lightsaber out in a flash, but against forty storm troopers, even with the Force Lowie would have been over matched. Five troopers fired, and each of the stun blasts scorched Lowie's fur and sent him into unconsciousness.

Jaina and Jacen were slower to react, and after they saw the ineffectiveness of their friend's charge, they hastily reconsidered any action they might have been planning. "We'll go quietly," Jacen said, and raised his hands as he slowly walked forward.

Jaina looked at her brother with confusion in her eyes. It wasn't like Jacen to give up on a fight so quickly. Suddenly Jaina saw Jacen's trick. As he was walking toward the storm troopers, he was also inching along the edge of the cliff which curved away from the main base. He was testing the limit of the field of darkness.

Jacen fought the urge to smile as he felt his mind clearing and his senses returning. A storm trooper walked up to him with his gun forward, beckoning Jacen to follow him. Jacen's arms moved in a blur. Before the guard knew what had happened, Jacen was standing tall with both blades in his hands, and the guard was staring at the hand that was holding his gun, finding both it and the gun lying on the ground.

Fifteen bolts came flashing toward the Jedi, but only eight were accurately fired, and Jacen's blue lightsabers made short work of them, sending half of them back at their sources.

With all of the activity focused on her brother, Jaina ran forward and made a flying tackle on the nearest guard, sending the guard tumbling and sending Jaina back outside of the darkness. She picked up the gun and fired at the guard on the ground. She turned to help her brother. Jaina was able to take down three guards before her fire was returned. Jaina quickly found out that a blaster was some what deficient when it came to deflecting blaster fire and took a shot in the arm and leg before she dropped the blaster and drew her lightsaber. The shots weakened her, and she was only able to block one of the next three shots aimed at her chest. She was fighting with the Force, and it took more than usual to bring her down, but the next shot sent her to the ground and the next two sent her into blackness.

Jacen saw his sister go down, but it only strengthened his resolve.

Tallon was watching the whole scene from the top of the cliff. He found himself almost rooting for the lone Jedi. Tallon could appreciate the kind of resolve that would inspire one person to take on forty. It was that same kind of resolve that had allowed one fighter to destroy the first Death Star, or allowed a pathetically out gunned rag-tag bunch of ships to win against a behemoth at Endor. Tallon's appreciation for Jacen's fighting skill began to escalate as he noticed that his men were out flanking him, forcing him back into the ysalamiri's grasp, yet Jacen was still able to deflect the bolts aimed at him. "A true swordsman," Tallon said to himself.

As much as Tallon enjoyed watching the young Solo fight, he was also watching his own men going down. "It's a pity," he said as he raised his gun and fired.

Jacen felt the sharp pain in-between his shoulder blades and was knocked out of his rhythm. As the bolts pounded him, he remembered the words of Streen, "You are not invincible . . . I fear that someday you will walk into something that you are not ready for." With that final thought, Jacen slipped away.

****

Chapter 14 "False I.D." (prelude)

This time Tallon was already in the lab when Thrawn arrived. The two officers greeted as Kendel cleaned up. Thrawn looked upon the three Jedi for the first time. Jacen and Jaina were obviously siblings. Their brown hair was a perfect match and they reflected their parents well. Jacen had the outdoor ruggedness that defined Han so well, and Jaina lacked none of her mother's beauty. Lowbacca was lying on one and a half tables, and Thrawn was quite relieved to see the large frame unconscious.

"What surprise do you have for me this time?" Tallon asked the Admiral. Tallon wasn't angry that Thrawn kept most of his plans secret from him, in fact he enjoyed the surprises that Thrawn was constantly sending his way.

"Oh, I think you'll like this one," Thrawn smiled.

Kendel stood in front of them, waiting for them to finish. "I'm ready," he said finally. Kendel walked over to the wookiee first. Before explaining what he had done to each of the Jedi, he turned to Tallon. "Are you aware of the Eye of Palpatine?"

Tallon nodded. "I've read of it."

"Then you are aware of the mind control technique it used to brainwash its solders."

"Yes, I am. But wasn't the technique used on Luke Skywalker and proved ineffective on Jedi?"

"Yes and no. It was used on Luke Skywalker, but it wasn't proven useless on Jedi, because Cray, a Jedi who was captured along with Skywalker, was effectively brainwashed until Skywalker reversed the effect. I have taken three precautions to make sure that this time it will be one hundred percent effective. First, I did not attempt to brainwash Skywalker, a Jedi Master, but used students right out of the Academy, as Cray had been. Second, the Eye of Palpatine had one program, and in the case of Cray and Skywalker, it clashed violently with reality. I have instead used programs that would be more readily accepted into their minds. Third, the kind of technology used on the Eye of Palpatine is over one hundred years old, and I have made drastic improvements."

Kendel paused only briefly, respecting Tallon's ability to learn quickly. "With the wookiee I have turned him into a performer for the Arena."

"Arena?" Tallon queried.

"The city that the extra clones have been building has several entertainment facilities," Thrawn explained. "The Arena is by far the most popular. Animals duel to the bitter end in front of thousands of cheering men. I thought that it would be appropriate to give our men a new champion."

Kendel continued with his explanation. "The wookiee are an old race, and they have been hunting as long as they have been alive. Before they became more civilized like they are today, they often had a village champion who would fight for honor. I have also allowed him to use the Force by explaining it as a god of battle. Since he naturally has the ability and knowledge to use the Force, I just gave him a different means to access it. Now when he wishes to perform spectacular feats of strength, he just calls on his god, Kyskkrrin, for strength. He has a fake memory of many battles, and I have already contacted the Arena, making sure that they give him a good tittle."

Tallon smiled and made a mental note to visit the Arena when Lowbacca was scheduled to fight.

Kendel moved on to Jacen. "Jacen is the one that I did the least with. Using the biography of Darth Vader, I have turned his grandson into the next Lord of the Sith. Both of his fictitious parents were killed by the New Republic. He has a vivid nightmare every other night about Skywalker killing his grandfather. He turned to the Dark Side, while he was a member of the Academy on Yavin IV. So the only main difference is that his motivation is anger against Luke Skywalker. He will be obedient to either of you, recognizing you as superior officers, but is likely to treat others with contempt, like Vader did."

Tallon was liking this little surprise more every minute. His imagination began to scream out possibilities. He had seen Jacen in battle, and now the idea of having him as his right hand man was more pleasing than ever.

Kendel wore an evil grin as he walked up to where Jaina lay. "I must admit that I had fun with Jaina. I used her familiarity with the witches of Dathomir, to have her trace her roots back to them. Both of her fictitious parents were also killed by the New Republic. For revenge, she has joined the Empire as its deadliest assassin. Beautiful, yet deadly. She has memories of countless operations which she has pulled off flawlessly. If you wanted to, you could use her to knock off any New Republic official, and she would never fail."

Kendel's smile increased ten-fold when he picked up her lightsaber. "I've been intrigued by the Jedi weapon, ever since I helped Frowinger build Laya's lightsaber. With Jaina's, I took the liberty of making a small adjustment." Kendel pressed the button on the smooth handle, and a sharp snap-hiss sounded in the lab. The blade, however, seemed absent from the end of the handle. Kendel swung the handle back and forth, and Tallon could here the tell-tale hum of a lightsaber, but the blade remained invisible. Reality finally struck Tallon, and he realized what the Doctor had done, but Kendel voiced it anyway. "I simple moved the light of the blade out of the visible spectrum, creating an even deadlier weapon than before."

"Very good, Doctor," Tallon said and meant it. The capture of these Jedi not only removed three potential threats to the Empire, but it gave the them three new weapons.

****

Chapter 15 "False I.D." (Part I)

Lowbacca woke up feeling hungry. He got up from his bed, fully rested from his short nap. He made his way down the winding stairway to his grand dining room.

"What may I get you, Master?" an eager clone yipped at him.

Lowbacca replied with a hasty bark, sending the waiter back to the kitchen. Lowbacca took his seat at the large table, and was not disappointed when seconds later a large, succulent piece of meat was placed in front of him. He growled his thanks and bade the waiter to leave. The meat was perfect, cooked long enough to purify it, but still raw enough to let the juices run free, spoiling none of the taste.

Lowbacca paused long enough in the middle of his meal to take a long swig from the crystal clear water that was placed in front of him. He set the goblet down and looked around the room, as if seeing it for the first time. There were beautiful dwarf trees surrounding the inside of the wood paneled room. Decorative vines hung from the ceiling, and the carpet was a lush forest green. It all reminded him of his home on Kashyyyk. All of the rooms in his house were designed similarly. His house. He liked the sound of that. He had earned this house through battle. Every night he won in the Arena he made more money than any wookiee still living on Kashyyyk could imagine. He knew that he owed his fame and money to Kyskkrrin, his god of battle, but Lowie couldn't help but think of all he had done to gain his wealth.

Lowbacca continued with his meal and began to get in the mind set for the battle he had tonight. He didn't know who or what he was going to fight, but as he ripped the last piece of meat from his bone, he knew that it would die.

***

Lowbacca stood behind the double doors listening to his name being announced. He could here the roar of the crowd, and the light from the auditorium shown through the door, making a rectangular outline on the floor around him. He was wearing a small metallic skirt, a vibrant red sash, and a gold chain. It was all covered by a large robe with a flashy emblem on the back. Lowbacca didn't like the clothes, but his agent assured him that it helped his image.

Lowbacca heard his cue from the loud speakers and ran through the doors, basking in the crowd's noise. He stopped and stood in the spotlight, looking up and around at the huge crowd. They cheered their hero onto battle. Lowbacca liked nothing better than the collective voice of fifty-thousand thousand people, all eager to see him spill the blood of his opponent.

Lowbacca walked down the red carpet toward the Arena. The carpet was red for a reason. Not because he was royalty, but so when he exited from the Arena, his bloody footprints wouldn't make visible tracks.

The Arena itself, was a circular battle ring fifty meters in diameter. When activated, it had a domed force field over top of it that turned the ring into half a sphere. The force field acted as a brick wall, fully transparent. It allowed nothing in and nothing out. It was very much a one way door, because half of the people that went in, didn't come back out, at least not in one piece.

Lowbacca walked slowly up the stairs, shedding his robe and giving it to one of his eager attendants. He stepped out onto the sandy turf of the Arena, raising his arms and played with the crowd some more.

Lowbacca calmed when the announcer began to introduce his opponent. The crowd fell to a hush too, waiting to see if the wookiee would be up to the challenge. "Now to fight our champion we have a special adversary. It was just flown in from the jungle world of Granchin (actually it was just cloned this morning), a Kayin Saber-Tooth."

The crowd "oooohhh"ed in respect of the creature's reputation. Their last champion was killed by a Claw-Cat. The Kayin Saber-Tooth was the only animal in Granchin higher up on the food chain than the Claw-Cat. Lowbacca had wanted to fight someone instead of something, but a Saber-Tooth was definitely acceptable. The cat weighed over four times as much as the wookiee, and its twin sabers were as thick as Lowbacca's arms. Lowbacca used no weapons, although he usually stole them from anyone he was fighting, then used them to embarrass his opponent.

The cat was being transported to the ring from the opposite side of the Arena. A very scared looking clown made his way into the Arena. As the caged cat was wheeled up to the edge of the ring, the clown tried to get its attention through a varied array of squeals and squawks. Before the cart driver opened the gate, several armed storm troopers surrounded the cage in case the cat got loose. The clown was getting quite edgy. He had never lured out as deadly an animal as this before. The cage opened with a clang, and the clown who was only fifteen meters away, broke into a run toward the edge of the Arena. The cat stayed crouched in the back of the cage, though and didn't move. The clown leaped over the deactivated force field projection device and looked at the force field operator to activate the protective shield, thinking that the cat was right on his heels.

The announcer began to chide the scared clown, but was secretly glad that it wasn't his job. "Come on Fwinky." The crowd echoed his name. "The cat is still in the cage. Go back and try again. Allen won't turn on the force field until the cat comes out."

Fwinky was scared stiff, but to the crowd's delight, Lowbacca went over to him and hoisted him back into the ring. Fwinky crept carefully back in front of the caged beast. "Come on out," Fwinky pleaded under his breath. The cat eyed Fwinky suspiciously. Fwinky took another cautious step forward. Like a tight spring, the cat sprung out of the cage, halving the distance between it and the clown in a fraction of a second. Fwinky's bladder burst, and he raced for the edge of the ring faster than he thought he was capable of running. The cat paused only briefly to smell Fwinky's puddle before giving chase. Fwinky dove head first toward the mats on the outside of the Arena, but collided with the force field. He looked at Allen with unbelieving betrayal in his eyes. Allen merely shrugged in indifference.

"Oh, my," the announcer said with heavy sarcasm and mocked concern. "It looks like Allen has activated the shield too soon - again!" Allen played his part by mouthing "I'm sorry." Everyone screamed with laughter. Almost everyone. Fwinky was emitting more of a blood curdling scream, and was far from finding this situation funny. Fwinky soon stopped yelling, though, when twin teeth pierced his back, breaking his spine, impaling his beating heart, and effectively gutting him.

The Saber-Tooth finished his meal quickly and turned to regard Lowbacca for the first time. The cat was busy licking its large jaws as the wookiee started to flank the creature. The crowd began to yell un-unison chants, ebbing Lowbacca on. They both charged each other. They met in the center of the ring, but Lowbacca took a giant step backwards before the leaping cat. The cat came up short and was hit in the side of the head by a two fisted swing.

The cat rolled into the dirt, but came up fast, eyeing the wookiee more cautiously now. Lowbacca initiated the attack this time, and the Saber-Tooth reared up on its hind legs. Lowbacca drove his shoulder under the front legs of the great cat, trying to flip it on its back, but the cat was too heavy, and it fell forward on top of Lowbacca.

The crowd gave a collective gasp of genuine concern, but the champion was not so easily defeated. Lowbacca rolled out from under the beast with a swift punch to the beast's belly. He kicked out the cat's back legs causing it to crash to the dust once again. Lowbacca scrambled to his feet and turned his back to the cat. He called on his god Kyskkrrin for extra sensory perception. He raised his arms in triumph to the crowd. The crowd gasped again at this move. Placing one's back to a Kayin Saber-Tooth was not on most peoples' "smart things to do" list.

Lowbacca could sense the cat getting up behind him. Lowbacca walked toward the edge of the ring, with his back still turned toward the cat. Lowbacca could feel uncertainty in the cat as to the reason for Lowbacca's behavior, but it didn't plan to pass up the opportunity for a quick kill. The cat scrambled back to its feet and charged Lowbacca's unprotected back. The wookiee didn't need the crowd's warning to know that twelve hundred pounds of muscle and teeth were flying at him at break neck speed. The wookiee flipped backwards over the leaping cat and watched as it crashed into the shield with a terrific force. The cat turned, a little groggy, but determined.

Lowbacca met the charge and grabbed both sabers before they could strike his flesh. The wookiee and cat stood locked in place, both straining against the other's awesome strength. Lowbacca decided to end it. "Kyskkrrin!!" he yelled in his wookiee tongue and was filled with an incredible strength. With a great heave, he pulled both teeth from the cat's skull. Blood poured freely from the cat's torn mouth, and it reared up in pain. Lowbacca held each tooth up, pausing only for effect, before slamming them into opposite sides of the cat's head. The powerful teeth crushed the weak cranium of the doomed beast. The blood began to slow its flow from the mouth of the cat as the brain stopped telling the heart to pump. The cat no longer gasped for breath because the brain had become indifferent. The cat's last sight before its eyes closed forever, was the wookiee holding its limp body aloft by its impaled head.

The wookiee held the heavy cat off the ground a little while longer for the crowd, before hurling it one last time at the force field. Lowbacca kept the teeth for trophies, though he didn't know if he would have room for them amongst all his other accolades. Maybe another room could be built.

****

Chapter 16 "False I.D." (Part II)

Jaina woke quickly. The sun was setting, and the night was just beginning. Her time was the night. She was a nocturnal predator in a male dominated society. Pitiful, weak men. She enjoyed her work. She dressed in her non-descript clothing and black cloak. She hooked her invisi-blade to her belt under her cloak. She had a job to do tonight. There would be no mistakes.

Jaina made her way out of her small room and down the flight of stairs. She nodded at the building manager, and made her way to the back exit. She entered the alley way through the little used door and crept silently toward the light of the main street. She tapped into her witch craft and made her self unnoticed as she stepped out into the street. She released the spell a few moments later, making it appear as if she had always been walking down the street, instead of just having stepped out of the alley.

Jaina quickly and smoothly walked down the street, making sure to both, not look at anyone yet to stay alert to her surroundings. Her destination came into view, and she didn't hesitate at the doors of the building.

The bar was hazy and loud. She stood for a moment, taking inventory of the large room. Jaina's hooded cloak still hid her identity, and no one paid her a second glance. She saw her target sitting by himself in a side booth. His name was Frintip Thooglen, a smuggler. It had been reported that he had done business with the New Republic in the past as a friend of Talon Karrde. It was possible that he was here to spy on the Empire. It was unknown how he had sneaked his way onto Hastrin, but it was Jaina's job to make sure he didn't leave.

Jaina kept her hood up as she moved gracefully through the crowded bar. Frintip was not looking at the room and did not see Jaina approach his table. When she slid into the opposite bench, he finally acknowledged her existence by looking up from the drink he was brooding over. "Yea," he almost spat, "what can I do for ya."

He was drunk. Jaina smiled to herself, realizing how much easier this was going to make her job, and how much more fun. "No," Jaina said as she pulled her hood back, "the question you should be asking yourself is, 'What can I do for you?'"

Frintip almost dropped his mug when he felt Jaina's hand on his leg. Jaina smiled her most seductive smile and sent him sensual images with her mind. Frintip couldn't find his voice, he looked nervously around, trying to figure out if he was being set up. No one else in the bar was looking at them. Jaina was hiding her identity from the rest of the bar. To everyone else she looked like a middle aged man, and anyone who had recognized her when she had entered the bar, knew how deadly she was and had no intention of getting involved

Jaina was beside herself with pleasure. She knew what was going through Frintip's mind, even if she couldn't read it with her magic, which she could. He was definitely on Hastrin for a reason and had a responsibility to perform well. Most likely that responsibility didn't involve prostitutes. On the other hand, Jaina knew how beautiful she was, and the mental barrage she was sending him was impossible to resist. He looked back at her still uncertain. Jaina's hand moved further up his leg. "How much?" he broke down.

Jaina leaned closer to him across the table. "We just met. How about a drink first."

Frintip nearly knocked the table over when he jumped up to signal the barman for another drink. Jaina kept up her smile as she played with her drink and tried to get Frintip to talk. Drunk as he was, Frintip managed to keep his mission under raps. Jaina got tired of the foreplay and signaled that she was ready to go.

They walked out of the bar, Jaina with her hood up again. As they walked toward Jaina's room Frintip began to get nervous again. "How much?" he repeated, trying to use money as an excuse to back out.

Jaina realized that she was loosing her grip on him. They passed a dark, empty alley, and she grabbed his arm and swung him violently into the side street, slamming his back into a brick wall. "More than you have," she answered.

Frintip could feel the strength in Jaina's grip and realized that he was up against more than just a simple hooker. "But . . . I thought that-" he stuttered, sobering quickly.

"You thought wrong." She spun him away from the wall and deeper into the alley. She kicked out his legs from under him and he hit the ground. Frintip scampered backwards on his hands and feet, looking past Jaina and into the street for help. Jaina ignored his desperate attempt for help. As soon as they had entered the alley way, she had set up a magical shield at the entrance to the alley. Anyone in the street would see the alley as totally empty.

Frintip was still backing deeper into the alley, when he looked behind him and saw that it was a dead end. "If you want money, I've got plenty," he pleaded.

Jaina laughed. Of course she wanted money, but she would earn more for this job than Frintip could possibly have on him. "What?" she asked. "Are you giving up without a fight? I'm just a helpless, unarmed woman."

As if inspired by her comment, Frintip decided to take her up on the challenge. As he crawled backwards his hand closed on a metal pipe. He sprang up and swung the crude weapon at Jaina. Jaina had seen the weapon before he had picked it up and was more than ready for the move. She blocked the side swing, catching the pipe in both hands and yanked it from Frintip, causing him to stumble forward. In one smooth motion, she bent the pipe into a horseshoe right in front of Frintip's amazed eyes, hooked the back of his neck in the crook of the pipe, and brought his head down into her knee. His nose crunched under the impact, and Jaina kicked him back, dropping the pipe.

Frintip stumbled back and slammed into a dumpster. The top lip of the dumpster caught him just below the waist, and he almost flipped in. Frintip tried to gather his wits. He heard what sounded like a blaster firing and looked down at himself, expecting to see a hole in his chest. Finding none, he looked up at Jaina. She was holding a metal cylinder in her hands. It didn't look like much of a weapon, but as she swung it at him, he felt a searing blade cut across his chest even though the end of the cylinder was still almost a meter away.

Jaina swing her invisi-blade back and in line with the smuggler's face. Frintip could hear a slight humming and could sense that the invisible sword was millimeters from his broken nose. "Yield?" Jaina asked.

Frintip nodded furiously, burning his forehead on the invisi-blade. "What do you want me to do?"

"It's very simple," Jaina said maliciously, "die." Jaina jumped up and flipped backwards, lashing out with her leg. Her booted foot caught Frintip directly under his chin, lifting him up and backwards. He fell neatly into the dumpster. Jaina walked up to the dumpster and saw Frintip looking back at her from the bottom of the smelly garbage dump. "Good-bye now." Jaina activate a hidden mechanism with her mind, opening the floor in the dumpster. Frintip and a load of trash fell three meters down into the lower chamber.

Frintip realized what was going to happen, and as the walls began to close in, he tried to jump out. Jaina was one step ahead of him and closed the false floor, sealing the smuggler in. She closed the outside lid to the dumpster as well and walked away, wondering what Frintip would look like as a cube.

****

Chapter 17 "False I.D." (Part III)

The two figures fought. They swung brilliant, glowing blades at each other. Both of them were clad in black, and one was clearly winning. Jacen stood and watched the battle, wishing desperately to be able to help his grandfather, but he was some how secured and restricted to being a spectator.

Darth Vader stumbled slightly under his foe's vicious onslaught, catching himself on the railing. His opponent took advantage of his weakened position and hammered away. Vader desperately tried to block the attack, but he was soon over powered and his hand fell victim to his enemy's lightsaber.

The victorious opponent raised his weapon for the final blow. "No!!" Jacen sat up in bed, sweat dripping down his forehead. He slowed his breath, and slowly lowered his body temperature. Luke Skywalker had killed his grandfather. Skywalker had done it before Jacen had been born, making sure that Jacen never got to know his mother's father. Jacen had obviously not been there when he had done it, but the Light Side of the Force gave him the nightmares.

Jacen smiled when he realized what day it was. Luke Skywalker had to pay for his father's death, and today he would. Jacen got out of bed and began to dress for the event.

***

Han and Luke were awakened from the cold, hard floor by the opening of their cell door. Four storm troopers came in, armed with blaster riffles. "Get up!"

Han and Luke groaned as they came to their feet. In a normal circumstance, Han would have been calculating the chances he and Luke would have if they rushed them, but he and Luke were weak and in no position to take on two to one odds. They had tried to exercise, but the lack of nourishing meals, had stunted their efforts.

Luke was excited for the possibility of leaving their cell, even for a short time. Luke took a moment to laugh at his pitiful state. Leaving a room was now excitement. The troopers led them out of the room and down the hallway, two in front and two behind.

Two minutes of walking brought them to their destination. Luke and Han were ushered through the door, and were surprised to find them selves in a shower room.

"Take your clothes off," one of the storm troopers ordered. Han and Luke eagerly stripped off their smelly clothes. They walked over to the showers and were soon under the jets of warm water.

"This is much better treatment than I ever got from the Yevetha," Han said.

"Quiet! The prisoners won't speak to each other," the trooper said as if he was repeating orders he had received.

Luke and Han didn't try to bend the rules anymore. They tried to enjoy their shower, but it ended too soon. They were each given a towel and then brought to a pair of sinks. Sitting in each sink was a shaving kit. Han played with the idea of trying to remove the razors from the power shavers, but thought twice and remembered the guns pointing at their backs.

After a few minutes, Han and Luke looked presentable. Luke still had a small bald spot, but he could effectively hide it with a comb. They were then taken over to the wall, where on two hooks hung Imperial uniforms, neatly pressed. Han and Luke exchanged confused looks, but followed orders and put them on. Neither of the uniforms had a rank.

Before Han and Luke left the shower room, they were both hand cuffed. They walked a short distance down the hallway, and soon found themselves standing outside. They both squinted at the sunlight, which was a few million times brighter than their cell's glow panel. They were escorted onto an eight-man transport where two more storm troopers were waiting.

After they were boarded and were whisking down a forest road, Han gathered the courage to question their guards. "Where are we going?" Han got no reply and decided not to try again. Speeding down the narrow road surrounded by trees reminded Luke of Endor.

After a turn, they could see a few buildings ahead. As they neared the edge of the forest, they could tell that what they had thought to be just a few buildings, was in fact an entire city. The city was composed of large structures that looked to have been built just recently. There were hundreds of people milling around in the streets. As Han looked at the crowds, he noticed that they were only about twenty different faces. Clones. And from what Han could see, lots of them. Han wanted to risk talking to Luke about it, but he could see that his friend was seeing the same thing he was.

The transport pulled up in front of an especially large building. They entered through the grand double doors and were ushered through a lobby that rivaled those in Coruscant. On the opposite side of the lobby, two double doors were open, the prisoners could see that this building housed a huge auditorium. The noise from inside the auditorium led Han to believe that there were several thousand people inside.

When Han and Luke reached the entrance to the auditorium, two red clad Royal Imperial guards replaced their storm trooper escort. Behind their escorts, Han and Luke made their way down the long center aisle. The auditorium was fashioned in the same way as the New Republic's Grand Assembly Chamber. A second's thought reminded Han that it was the Imperial Assembly Chamber before the New Republic took over Coruscant.

Han and Luke walked in between row upon row of Imperial civilians. When they had entered the large chamber, the crowd had begun cheering loudly. Han made a rough estimate of the number of people on the main floor and in both side balconies and guessed that his prediction of several thousand was plenty accurate. When They reached the front of the room, Han saw that there was also a huge rear balcony, and Han added another thousand men to his estimate.

The front of the chamber was designed like an old Imperial court room. Han and Luke were set behind a table facing the front of the room. The crowd hushed as a robed figure made his way to the judge's podium. Han recognized him as the captain who had met them when they had first landed. Two black clad individuals escorted Tallon. Each person was wearing a hooded cloak and their identities were concealed.

As an officer stepped up to a microphone preparing to speak, the Royal Imperial guards stepped up next to Han and Luke and put a collar on each of their necks. "The Imperial court is now in session. His Honor the Captain Tallon presiding. On trial for crimes against the Empire are Han Solo of the New Republic and Luke Skywalker of the New Republic."

Han noticed that the crowd cheered and booed at all of the appropriate places. Han was curious as to why the Empire would go through so much trouble to get at, what Han was sure would be, an execution. The old Empire would have simply shot them as soon as they had stepped off their shuttle. All of this fluff was a waste of time. It was obviously being done for the sole purpose of the audience. Han could imagine what kind of morale booster this kind of trial could be for an Imperial fleet. Han wondered who was calling the shots now. Who ever it was, he was a great strategist. An idea passed briefly through his mind, but he dismissed it. Thrawn was dead.

Han and Luke were seated on the left side of the court room. On the right side a commander was getting ready to speak. "Commander Snotzenexer, are you ready to make your opening statement."

Snotzenexer nodded. "Yes, your Honor." Snotzenexer strolled to the middle of the court room and turned to face the crowd. He was glad that Thrawn had asked him to play a part in this trial. He would enjoy watching the two prisoners trying to argue against him. He laughed to himself. Tallon probably wouldn't even let them speak.

"Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are the two worst criminals in the history of the Empire. They are the main reason that we are now hiding in the Core Systems. Together they have shed more Imperial blood than any other living being."

Han was restraining himself, knowing that an outburst would likely be punished. The Empire had killed more people on Alderaan alone than Luke or Han could ever count, much less kill themselves.

"First, the charges against Han Solo. He is responsible for the deaths of a countless number of storm troopers and officers. He played a major role in the destruction of the first Death Star, and his held responsible for the destruction of the second Death Star." Before Han could make his rebuttal, Snotzenexer cut him off. "Imperial regulation 5.3.11 states that in a murder trial, both the murderer and the owner of the weapon used in the act are to be executed. The murderer for the act, and the owner of the weapon for negligence. But you weren't negligent when you lent General Calrissian your ship. You knew exactly what he planned to do with it. Plus you made it possible for him to blow up the Death Star, by deactivating the force shield your.

"As a general in the New Republic," Snotzenexer continued, "Han Solo was in command of numerous ships on countless missions of destruction and death, aimed at the Empire." Snotzenexer turned to Tallon.

Tallon stared hard at Han Solo. "Han Solo, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty, you sons o-" Electricity leaped from his collar and tore into his voice box, cutting Han's retort short.

"The defense is out of order," Tallon stated. "In the future the defense is advised to answer directly the questions asked him. You can save your immature insults for a more informal time, like when you are back in your cell." Tallon nodded back to Snotzenexer.

"Second, the charges against Luke Skywalker. He is responsible for the deaths of approximately five hundred thousand officers in the destruction of the first Death Star. He can be traced to the death of almost thirty tie pilots and to the destruction of many walkers, of which the normal personnel rating is five. In hand to hand combat, he has killed countless storm troopers and a few officers. But perhaps the most grievous crime, is the assassinations of both Darth Vader and his Majesty the Emperor." This last charge brought a loud hissing from the crowd.

"Luke Skywalker, how do you plea?" Tallon asked.

"The defense enters the plea of self defense," Luke said, seeing no other way out but to play along.

"The prosecution would like to make a final comment," Snotzenexer said, expecting Luke's reply. "In just about every government in the galaxy, a traitor or a rebel is considered to be a felon. And no felon on the run can claim self defense against the government that is chasing him, seeing as how he brought the government down on himself. The prosecution rests." Snotzenexer strode back to his table without out looking at the defense.

"Does the defense wish to make an opening statement?" Tallon asked.

"Yea," Han spoke up, "for starters, you can all go to-" the collar cut him off again.

"The defense is out of order again. They forfeit their opening statement." Tallon turned back to Snotzenexer. "The prosecution may call their first witness."

"Thank-you, your Honor." Snotzenexer walked out from behind his desk and turned to the auditorium. "I would like to call five thousand six hundred seventy-two witnesses."

Tallon knew this was coming, but tried to act surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Each person in the chamber is a direct relative of a victim. Everyone here has one less uncle, one less brother, no father, or is missing several cousins because of the defense. Han Solo and Luke Skywalker have made thousands of lives empty as the result of their senseless killing."

Han looked around the auditorium, recognizing again, all of the clones present. Han almost laughed to himself. They could only find about one hundred different people who could actually claim to have had a relative killed. "The defense would li-" Han was cut off again. He scowled at Tallon. He hadn't been hadn't been out of order that time. He wanted to try again, when Luke nudged him and pointed toward their table. Three buttons were visible. They were labeled objection, comment, and rebuttal. Han pressed the comment button.

Tallon saw the light blinking on his podium. He didn't want to acknowledge the comment, but above anything else, he was fair, even if this was a kangaroo court. Besides, he had enough confidence in Snotzenexer that anything Han might say could easily be defeated. "The defense wishes to make a comment?"

"Thank-you, your Honor," Han said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Han half expected to be cut off right their, but Tallon held off. "The defense would like to point out that the majority of the audience are clones. There are probably no more than one hundred different people in this room, and I bet that only half of them can even trace their biological line back to a, quote-un-quote, 'victim.' Do you have at least one person that you can honestly claim is a relative."

The crowd went insane with angry noise. They didn't appreciate Han's direct statement against the validity of their existence. Tallon had to pound his gavel several time to regain order. Inwardly he was pleased. If the crowd learned to hate Han, all the better. Tallon turned to Snotzenexer.

"Before I reply to that outlandish statement," the adjective received several cheers, "I would like to point out your obvious disregard for the quality of life. Your wife is the head of the New Republic, is she not? I believe the New Republic holds the value of one life just as highly as it holds a thousand. To hear you try to claim that the lack of value of five thousand lives out-weighs the value of, as you claim, fifty lives, is blatant heresy. As a member of the New Republic, you should not be arguing for the quantity of life over the quality of life."

The following ovation had to be quieted by Tallon again, although this time he let it go on for about thirty seconds before pounding the gavel.

"To answer your request, although you have probably lost all accountability in the eyes of this court, I will produce one person who has an honest claim of direct relation to a victim." Snotzenexer turned to Tallon. "The prosecution would like to call Jacen Solon, Dark Lord of the Sith."

Han froze at the name, and Luke froze at the title. Jacen, one of the black hooded figures flanking Tallon, pulled back his hood and took his place in the witness box. Han was shocked. Collar or no collar, Han couldn't get his voice to work properly.

"Darth Solon is the grandson of Darth Vader." Snotzenexer turned to Han. "Do you wish to dispute his claim of ancestry?"

Han was still in shock. He desperately wanted to believe that the man in the witness box was a clone. Even if that was the case, where did they get the blood sample. Han could see a small scar above Jacen's left eye, an injury he had gotten twelve years ago. This was no clone.

"The prosecution will repeat the question. Do you wish to dispute the claim that he is the grandson-"

"He is my son!" Han yelled. Tallon was late with the switch, but left it in longer than usual to compensate. Han gagged on his collar violently.

"Answer the question!" Tallon fumed.

"He is the grandson of Anakin Skywalker," Luke said.

Tallon hesitated over Luke's switch, but decided to let the answer pass.

With his witness' identity confirmed, Snotzenexer began his line of questioning. "For the record, what is your name?"

"My name is Jacen Solon," Jacen answered.

"Who were your parents?"

"My father and mother were named Hansin and Leon Solon. My mother was the daughter of Darth Vader."

Luke pressed the comment button. Tallon trusting the prosecutor again, allowed Luke to be heard. "That is not the lineage I agreed to."

Snotzenexer turned to Luke to regard his comment. "My earlier question did not inquire as to the lineage of Darth Solon. It would have been impossible for you to answer a question I did not ask, although Solo seems to be quite good at it. You agreed that he is the grandson of Darth Vader, who was previously known as Anakin. That information is all that is necessary for the court."

Luke thought that he had backed Snotzenexer into a corner. "Then why did you bring up the lineage if it is not important."

Snotzenexer walked right up to the table where Luke was standing. The Commander had a friendly smile on. "You've never been in a court room, have you?" Snotzenexer didn't wait for Luke's response. "As the prosecuting attorney, it is my job to make you look like the scum of the galaxy. To do that I have to make the ruling council, in some cases a jury, but in this case, his Honor, feel that what you have done is just awful." Snotzenexer was talking to Luke like he was a child instead of a Jedi Master. "In order to get the judge to see your crimes as awful, I have to get him connected to the victim in some way. Asking about his parents wasn't necessary and that's not what's on trial. I was trying to paint Darth Solon as a real human being that the Judge can relate to. Someone he can feel sorry for. Someone who he can avenge. I'm trying to give him a reason to have you executed for what you did to his grandfather. But I'll get there."

Snotzenexer returned to the witness stand. "What happened to your grandfather?"

"He was killed by Luke Skywalker."

"The same Luke Skywalker that is one of the defendants. I'm sorry, but with all these clones running around, you can never be sure," Snotzenexer said this last comment as he looked directly at Han. The crowd laughed.

Jacen didn't so much as crack a smile. "They are one and the same person."

"How old were you when this happened?" Snotzenexer asked.

"I was not yet born at the time of my grandfather's death."

"Then who told you about it?"

"No one did."

Snotzenexer walked away from the Jacen and turned to play with the crowd. "You mean that he was killed before you were born, and no one has ever told you who killed him?"

"That is correct."

"Then how do you know that Luke Skywalker did it?" Snotzenexer asked, pointing at Luke.

"I have seen him kill my father over two hundred times in my dreams."

"That's one heck of a nightmare," Snotzenexer got a few isolated agreements from the crowd. "I have bad dreams too. One where I am in a small room, and it starts to fill up with water. I have another where I am being chased by a rancor. Neither of things have ever happened before, and I hope that they never do. How do you justify what you have seen in your dreams as the truth?"

"I have the Force," Jacen said matter of factly. "It is the Light Side of the Force that gives me these nightmares. It is the weak effort of the Light Side, trying to get me to turn back to my former master by telling me that he saved my grandfather by relieving him of the Dark Side. Actually he killed him because he was scared for his own life. He was scared to face the reality that the Dark Side is actually stronger," Jacen directed the last few comments right at Luke.

Snotzenexer snickered at Jacen's hostility. "Let's get back to this Force. It lets you see the past?"

"The Force shows me what it wills. But I can control it as well."

"Perhaps you can give us a demonstration of this Force."

"Of course," Jacen complied. He stood up from the chair and pointed his hands at Luke, sending a series of lightning bolts toward his former master. The surgery that was sending out a negative Force buble protected him, and the lightning sparks danced around the globe of protection.

"Jacen, no!" Han screamed. Tallon reached over for Han's switch, but Jacen beat him to it, aiming the lightning at Han. The shock that registered in Han's face was even greater than before. His own son was attacking him. Han was standing close to Luke and the buble was protecting him too.

Jacen's demonstration lasted only five seconds, but to Han, it seemed like an eternity. To finish off his display, Jacen grabbed the edge of the table, which was outside the bubble, and flipped it with the Force onto his father and uncle.

"Thank-you, Darth Solon," Snotzenexer said. "I believe the court understands a little better now. No further questions."

Tallon turned to Han and Luke. Luke was just getting up from the floor, and Han was struggling under the weight of the heavy table. Luke began to reach for the rebuttal button, but Tallon saw it coming. "No questions," Tallon observed. "Very well. Does the defense wish to call a witness?"

Before either of them could speak, Snotzenexer interjected. "Your Honor, I believe that the court should seriously consider that neither of the defendants are of a sane mind right now, and should not be allowed to defend themselves."

Tallon nodded his head at Snotzenexer's quick thinking. "The court agrees. The defense will call no witnesses. I here by hold the right to pass judgment." Luke had regained his vertical posture, but Han was still struggling. Tallon waited for both of them to be fully erect before he passed the sentence.

"I find both defendants, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, guilty of all charges brought against them. I sentence them to a public execution," Tallon paused, making sure that everyone in the court room could here him, "in the Arena."


	3. Part 3

****

Chapter 18 "Attack!!"

The Imperial Star Destroyer's huge bulk filled the previously voided space as it dropped smoothly out of hyperspace. The few pleasure cruisers that were in the invaded planetary space were dumb-struck, but they quickly scattered when behind the massive battle cruiser, four more Imperial class Star Destroyers and ten Victory class Star Destroyers made their dramatic entrances.

Down on the planet of Gensiffery, officials of the planet were scrambling to make sense of the fleet that had just dropped in from nowhere. Gensiffery as a planet, had a very wide tropic zone and was mainly just a large tourist attraction. It was often joked that there was more fire power in the civilian hangers than there was in the government ones. This joke stemmed from the fact that that a lot of hostile types frequented the resort planet to lay low. Only the heads of the government could appreciate how hard the joke actually hit home. Right now, they didn't find their lack of a military humorous in the least.

Up on the leading Imperial Star Destroyer, Commander Qwi'tek paced the bridge, anxiously waiting for the plea of innocence that was expected from the resort planet below. He inwardly chided himself for his anxiety, knowing that it was one of the reasons that he was still only a commander. Being a non-human was normally a big handicap for an Imperial officer, but that was back in the days of the Emperor and Tarkin. Tallon was a judge of character and ability and a very good one. Under Tallon's control the high-ranking officers all knew why they were in the position they were in or why they had the rank that they did. No one complained about lack of promotions and no one argued with Tallon's decisions. Qwi'tek appreciated a leader who was willing to have an inferior rank such as Captain, while his military leader had a rank of General and three other military officers shared the title of Captain. In this Imperial campaign, everyone realized that the goal was not personal glorification, as it was in the time of the Emperor, but for unified betterment. They were searching for those good-ol'-times, and for the first time, there was a universal agreement on how to get there.

The communications officer signaled to the commander that the planet was sending a message to 'The Leader of the Large Battle Ships above our Peaceful Planet.' Qwi'tek chuckled as he moved to his holo screen to receive the call. Before pressing the accept button, he composed his face back to the serious officer all of his underlings respected, making sure that his ears were the right inflamed shade of red and that his third eye was squinted properly.

The planet representative was a little taken aback at the sight of the alien officer. He tried to stumble through his opening statement despite the distraction. "We would like to know what your intentions are?"

Qwi'tek managed to keep his facial expressions emotionless as inwardly he scoffed at this weak man on the other end of the line. The future existence of the entire planet rested upon this conversation, and this was the best person they could find. "Our intentions. Do you know that a good fleet commander doesn't even tell his fleet what his intentions are until minutes before dropping into the hot zone? It gives his crew no chance to question his decision or to have second thoughts. Military intentions are always highly classified information, and you simply want me to tell you what ours are without even properly introducing yourself?"

The Gensiffery diplomat somehow managed to miss the heavy sarcasm in Qwi'tek's voice and proceeded to introduce himself. "My name is Thoyidrin Hafsten. Perhaps we could discuss possible intentions. If you wou-"

"Yes," Qwi'tek cut him off in his earlier tone, "and maybe we could have tea and scrumpits, but it will have to wait until after I decimate your pathetic planet." Qwi'tek cut off the transmission, a little disappointed that he didn't get to see the wimp grovel. He turned to his bridge officers. "Charge turbo lasers and fire on the surface at will. Don't bother looking for any military targets. Just fire at the largest spots of red on the infrared display. Were going to see if we can't increase the efficiency of Gensiffery's famous tanning salons."

Down on the planet turbo lasers rained down like flaming meteorites. A large swimming pool was instantly vaporized, frying the fifty-odd swimmers that had been, until just recently, trying not to get to burned. All over the beach fronts sunbathers went from white skin, to deep tan, to third degree burns, to a small pile of ashes in the span of a few nanoseconds. Even the planet's most expensive sun block (500 credits for ten ounces) was proved a little less than totally useless against the vicious onslaught.

Explosions from large buildings shook the landscape for miles around. The only other thing that Gensiffery was famous for, other than their resorts, was their abundant supply of clean burning natural gas that was produced along the huge reefs in the many vast oceans. The gas was stored in huge thousand cubic meter tanks, and was quickly proving to be just as flammable and explosive as all of the advertising companies had claimed.

***

Reports of the Gensiffery attack came in like a flood from all of the New Republic satellites in the area. Wedge was in command of a small fleet patrolling the edge off the border between New Republic space and the Core systems. His fleet had just arrived earlier that day. Wedge had been waiting for this type of news all week. His fleet was too far away from the action, but there were many other similar fleets patrolling everywhere.

Wedge scanned the list of the other fleets. Only one was in range, about ten minutes by hyperspace. The next closest was two hours away. Gensiffery would be one hundred percent molten lava if it had two wait two hours for backup. Wedge studied both the specs on Gensiffery and Frection, the planet where the nearest fleet was in orbit. Gensiffery was a small non-military target. Frection was one of the leading resource planets that provided the New Republic with a lot of metals for ship construction.

Wedge saw the ruse immediately. Draw the ships away from the primary target with a decoy strike. A strike on a civilian target. One that was sure to tug at the New Republic's heart strings and make them come in firing, leaving the actual target open to attack. Wedge saw the ruse, but also saw that the Empire had to know he would see it. It wasn't so much a trap as it was a dilemma. He couldn't very well decide to let Gensiffery burn.

Wedge contacted the fleet at Frection and talked to the captain in charge. "Captain Tremon, Gensiffery is under heavy attack. It is only a few minutes away from your position."

"Gensiffery?" Tremon had heard of the resort before, but questioned it's validity as a target. "It sounds like a trap, sir."

"I'm sure it is, but we have to respond. What I want you to do is to divide your fleet into three equal parts. Send two of them towards Gensiffery. Have one of those two fleets stop at Frection's sun, turn around, and come back along the same route."

Tremon understood the strategy and cut the signal. He looked at his own fleet strength. A fleet of twenty-one Calamarian Cruisers, six Carriers, and twelve heavy assault Frigates was easily divided into three. The Captain did the simple math and relayed his instructions to his fleet. He paused briefly, deciding which third to send all the way to Gensiffery. He scanned the Carriers and saw that one of them contained the 185th fighter squad. He made his mind up quickly. He still wanted to be able to visit the resort planet when this was done.

Tremon gave the order and two thirds of his fleet disappeared.

***

Qwi'tek received the report a few seconds after the New Republic ships left real space. Qwi'tek smiled as he gave the orders for phase two. One minute later the planetary barrage stopped and the Imperial fleet disappeared into hyperspace.

***

Twenty seconds after Tremon's ships had left Frection, an Imperial fleet jumped in at the same point at which the two thirds had left. Tremon was still staring at the spot of his departing ships, when these new ships came in. "Prepare for engagement!" He shouted at his crew. He hadn't expected the Empire to be so exact.

"Sir, we can't get a weapons lock on them. They are hiding in the hyperspace field that our ships made when they jumped into hyperspace."

Tremon cursed his foolishness. Of course the Empire would have timed it just right. The residue hyperspace field would last for at least five minutes. His reinforcements weren't due for another seven. "Fire weapons without a lock then. There is a mass of about fifteen large capitol ships out there, surely you can hit something."

"Yes, sir."

Tremon held on tight as his ship shook from both firing and being hit.

***

Captain Sanson smiled as she looked at the small fleet before her. Seven Calamarian cruisers were formidable, but they couldn't accurately hit any of her ships' vital systems, while their ships were laid out in front of her. She had been hiding behind the far moon, waiting for the fleet to respond to Qwi'tek's attack on Gensiffery. She inwardly mourned the loss of such a beautiful planet. She fancied herself in a small bikini and had visited the resort world many times before. She shrugged it off. There was still the tropic worlds of Xenziou, Welping, and Knundeck. She liked sunbathing. In fact she liked it almost as much as kicking New Republic butt.

"Deploy, TIE's to intercept," she said as she saw the two Carriers emptying their cargo. A few poorly aimed shots hit her Star Destroyer doing little to no damage.

The New Republic fleet had not been in battle ready formation, but had been in an orbiting formation. The formation was a simple follow-the-leader set up, where the ships paraded around the planet in double file. The two forward most ships were receiving all of the damage given out by Sanson's capitol ships. She was pleased to see that the Calamarian Cruiser on the left was already in poor shape. Its shields were down and the power was flickering.

Sanson was a mechanical genius, and she made a point to understand all of the technical aspects of both the ships she controlled and the ones she fought against. "All weapons stations fire on the left Cruiser. Aim at the forward right sensory array."

Instead of hesitating to ponder the odd targeting assignment, the officers executed the woman's orders immediately. Since they were in the hyperspace field, the sensors were useless and likely turned off. Without power running to the sensor arrays, their energy back-fire safeties were also turned off. Sanson watched as the sensor array took heavy fire, knowing that soon it would explode and send a terrific energy kick-back along its power line. The sensor array erupted with flame, and a few fractions of a second later, the entire front of the ship shuddered as the front main batteries overloaded. The front half of the ship exploded when the batteries went critical. The rest of the ship under went a few massive echoing after shocks and dematerialized into an orange ball of flame. The flame grew quickly, feeding off the contained oxygen of the ship and then died, revealing an ugly assortment of black, molten metal.

Sanson mentally logged her first kill only forty-seven seconds into battle. She was sure it was a new record.

***

As the Cruiser exploded next to him, Tremon realized that his formation was in error, and he quickly reminded it, sending his own injured ship to the rear of the new double-triangular formation.

The battle continued furiously for a few minutes. The New Republic took heavy casualties, loosing another Cruiser and two Frigates. The Imperials took major damage to none of their ships, but minor fires had sprang out on a few of the Imperial Star Destroyers. When the sensors told Sanson that the decaying hyperspace field was down to an unsafe level, she decided to move out and attack the remaining New Republic up close, slugging it out toe to toe.

Tremon wanted desperately to make up for his former follies and was waiting for the ships to come out of the field. He had relayed instructions to all of the Cruisers, and as soon as the Imperial ships came forward, all of the New Republic's fire power concentrated on one of the Imperial class Star Destroyers. It rocked under the heavy fire and after a few key shots to the main turbo lasers and bridge it began to drift. Like a feverish animal, it convulsed inwardly as if it had an upset stomach. Finally it belched up flame from every orifice, exploding into a spectacular fire ball. It had drifted too close to Victory class Destroyer and took it out as well.

The celebration on the side of the New Republic was some what stemmed when one of their own Cruisers exploded. Sanson seemed not to notice that she had just lost one of her few Imperial Destroyers, but focused on pressing her main attack. Four Cruisers were left and only two Frigates. The X-wings and E-wings were all gone save a few crippled ships, limping their way back to the Carriers. Now that they had moved out of the hyperspace field, the TIE's could swarm the capital ships, disrupting their targeting displays and making it easier for the Destroyers.

Tremon was just about to give up hope, when the second third of his fleet who had turned around at the sun, came back behind the charging Imperial ships.

***

The last third of the fleet dropped into the orbital space around Gensiffery to find the space empty. The Carriers emptied their cargo as ordered, but the fighters were met by nothing.

Jon Poncho cursed his fate. Vince had explained their situation during the trip. Jon didn't pay very much attention at the fighter pilot briefings. If there was anything important that he needed to know, he knew that Vince would inform him. All Jon cared about was eliminating enemy TIE's.

"Where'd they go," Bep, the third member of the 185th fighter squad said over the com.

"They ran 'cause they knew I was coming," Jon boasted, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"Hardly," Vince commented. "More likely that they left to backup the fleet attacking the rest of us back at Frection."

"Let's turn around then," Jon insisted. "I don't want to miss all the fun!"

The fleet was thinking the same thing as Jon (only for different reasons), and the fighters were told to turn around and return to the Carriers. The entire fleet was in the process of turning around, when Qwi'tek's fleet returned from their triangular, ten minute jump.

"Lock and load, Jonny boy. You'll get that fun after all." Vince went through his pre-fight checks.

"Their fighters will take a while to deploy," Bep observed. "Let's press our advantage."

"You aren't thinking of the Trimpo maneuver, are you?" Vince asked, mentioning the maneuver named after himself.

"Right on, Beppo!" Jon hollered. "Prepping computer now."

Bep and Vince had programmed the fighters and had equipped them with several illegal functions, such as the Trimpo maneuver. The fleet in general chose to over-look these minor deviations from protocol, seeing them in a purely pragmatic light.

The three W-wing fighters streaked to the head of the pack, and a second later disappeared into hyperspace. They reappeared seconds after in the middle of the Imperial Fleet.

Qwi'tek almost lost control of his cool demeanor when he saw the three ships appear directly in front of his bridge. The ships banked hard and just missed paying the commander a personal visit. Everyone on the bridge flinched. "Where did they come from?"

"They just dropped out of hyperspace, sir." Knowing that Qwi'tek could see that for himself, the officer decided to elaborate. "It was unknown that the New Republic had that capability. The fighters are of an unknown configuration."

"Well, get them!"

"Fighters are being deployed as we speak."

The three W-wings split up. Jon went off by himself, while Vince and Bep stayed together. Vince, like Captain Sanson, prided himself in the knowledge of his Imperial blueprints.

"Bep, follow me. This Imperial Destroyer hasn't started to unloaded her TIE's yet. The rear right hanger bay is dangerously close to the engine's fusion generators."

The two fighters sped around the back of the huge ship. They hung the tight corner a little too close to the huge engines, and their shields begged for mercy. Rounding the back of the ship, they saw a hanger door open and four TIE bombers lift off. The capacity of the hanger was sixteen, and the remaining twelve were getting ready for lift off.

"Get ready to let the birds fly."

Several bomber pilots looked up from their ships to see the two W-wings speed toward their unprotected hanger. A look of dread passed over each one of their faces as they saw two bright spots form on the bottom of each of the fighters. The four torpedoes sped toward the hanger as pilots scrambled futilely for cover.

Vince and Bep pulled up after they dropped their projectiles. The torpedoes exploded inside of the hanger and flame shot out of the open door. The torpedoes themselves didn't do that much damage, but the twelve exploding, fully loaded, TIE bombers made the whole ship shake.

Just as Vince had planned, the explosion tore through the inner walls of the Destroyer, laying bare and vulnerable the fusion reactors. The reactors buckled and exploded, blowing off the entire back of the huge ship. The crippled Star Destroyer rocketed forward into two unsuspecting Victory class Destroyers, and the three ships exploded together.

Qwi'tek saw the ship next to him lurch forward and the fiery result. They were still in hyperspace formation, and too closely pack for combat. Of course, Qwi'tek hadn't expected to engage the enemy for another minute.

Jon saw his friend's success and got jealous. He approached one of the behemoth Imperial Destroyers and looked for a weakness. The two force field generators stuck out like two out of place water towers on the top of the ship. Jon knew plenty of tricks to take out one of these towers on only one pass. He set his outside lasers to a little bit off center and put his ship into a corkscrew as he drew near the ship. When he got within range he held down the his fire button, sending out a spiraling stream of lasers. The lasers traced a small circle on the surface of the first armored tower. He let off when the batteries began to get depleted and let loose a torpedo at the tower. Jon spun away and down as the torpedo hit the center of the charred circle. The weakened structure gave way, and the torpedo penetrated, igniting the tower unlike any water tower he had ever seen. The second tower was caught up in the flame and shrapnel of the first tower and likewise exploded.

Qwi'tek saw the field generators go down on the Destroyer on the other side of him and started to wonder if there weren't more than just three fighters.

The rest of the New Republic's ships saw the success of the three fighters and cheered. The fifteen Imperial ships had contained more fire power than they did, and they could use all the help they could get. The capitol ships were now in range and they focused their fire power on the wounded, shieldless Imperial Destroyer, reducing it to a ball of flame within in seconds.

Qwi'tek had lost two of his five Imperial class Destroyers and two of his ten Victory class destroyers in less than a minute. His ship was rocking constantly from outside fire. He looked out his window, but couldn't see any of the New Republic ships firing on him. "We are getting hit by more than just three fighters." It was more of a question than a comment.

"Sir, that is friendly fire. The three original fighters are weaving amongst our capitol ships, and every time our TIE's miss, they hit us."

"Incompetent fools!" Qwi'tek fumed under his breath. "Tell them not to miss!"

"Yes, sir."

***

Jon laughed as he saw laser fire splat on the armor of the Star Destroyer he was skimming over. He had been fighting a bunch of rouge Imperial bands over the past year and had expected improved aim from a more organized group of Imperials. He regretted having to take out he TIE's, because they were making his job so much easier by shooting the Destroyers for him. He knew that Vince and Bep would claim all of the docked TIE Fighter's in all three of the ships they took out as kills, and Jon never lost.

Jon shot around the base of a Victory class and was being chased by two Fighters with heavy trigger fingers. Jon corkscrewed away from all of the fire and was yet to get hit. He saw over towards the back of the Destroyer, three more TIE's trying to cut him off. He cut down close to the surface of the large ship, causing the three other ships to disappear behind the arrow head of the Destroyer. Jon sped down off the side of the ship and turned toward the back corner, still towing two unwanted shadows. Jon hopped that his two trails hadn't seen the other three ships. He rounded the back corner and turned directly into the three oncoming ships. The maneuverability of the W-wing saved him as he wove through the startled TIE's. Seconds later his two trails tore around the corner and crashed into the three unsuspecting ships. Jon saw the explosion behind him and reached over to a small digital display and clicked in five kills.

Bep and Vince each had a tail and they were planing a similar trick. "Ready for a Lazy Bat?" Bep asked.

"The sooner the better," Vince agreed. He had been the first one to take a hit. Regardless of the fact that the hit had bounced harmlessly of his shield and hadn't affected his ship in the slightest way, it was a matter of pride.

A Lazy Bat took advantage of the blind spots on a TIE due to its side mounted solar panels. Vince and Bep pulled up side by side about thirty meters apart. The TIE's followed obediently. Each W-wing started a lazy turn toward each other. As soon as the TIE's began to follow, the W-wings took advantage of their zero-turning radius abilities and completed their 180 degree turn. They turned sideways during the turn, their bellies only three meters apart. The TIE's had no chance of completing the turn in the thirty meter space and crashed into each other head on.

Jon was being tailed by two pairs of TIE's, one behind the other. He pulled his W-wing straight up, crushing himself back in his seat. His loop turned him 270 degrees so he was flying down on a perpendicular course to his previous path. He was directly above the second pair and wasted no time wasting them. The front pair tried to mimic the move but came up pitifully short. Jon completed the last 90 degrees of his turn and settled in behind the front pair. With three quick bursts from his side cannons, he moved his kill counter up four more.

***

Above Frection, the battle had made a decisive turn in favor of the New Republic. The Imperials were now severely out gunned, with the majority of that fire power at their backs. Sanson was a proud captain, but she wasn't stupid. She hastily called for a retreat. Her job had not been to emerge victorious, all her job was, was to keep the New Republic ships occupied.

Star Destroyers were not the most nimbly of space crafts, and five more exploded before the fleet was able to maneuver themselves into a safe hyperspace trajectory. All told, only eight of the original fifteen ships escaped, and only two of those were Imperial class Destroyers.

***

Jon, Vince, and Bep continued to rack up the kills, taking out over twenty TIE's before a different New Republic fighter scored its first kill.

Qwi'tek knew that he was in a sore position. He still had more fire power than the New Republic fleet, but his fleet was badly out of position. He had been briefed by General Oskiman before the start of this current campaign, and he had been told of the New Republic's fighting prowess, especially in their one man fighters. He had also been told to expect to find Jedi in the cockpits of those fighters. He was sure that he was up against three Jedi here, and they were depleting his supply of TIE's faster than he could pilot them. The Empire relied on swarming tactics above all else. The Imperial commanders cared nothing of the lowly fighter pilot, and did little to train him other than basic flight school. The Imperials philosophy was that ten bad fighters could always take out one good one. Now the numbers were actually in the New Republic's favor.

Qwi'tek could still feel his ship rock under fire that had to be heavier than just fighters. A quick look at his tactical display told him that now his own Star Destroyers were firing on each other when ever they missed. It was the simple fact that they were out of TIE's, and had to try to knock out the fighters with turbo lasers, that told him the fight was over.

As Qwi'tek gave the order to pull back, he had no doubts that if he had stayed, he would have won this encounter, but that was not his objective.

Jon shrieked with delight as he successfully tempted another turbo laser to fire at him. He watched as the errant bolt whizzed by him and exploded into the bridge of another Destroyer. Jon's pleasure peaked however, when seconds later he got a clumsy Imperial class Destroyer to shoot itself.

Jon was truly disappointed when he saw that the Imperials were retreating. He looked down at his kill display and was confident that 17 would reign supreme. He was right.

***

General Oskiman frowned slightly when he saw the results come in from Frection and Gensiffery. He had ordered Qwi'tek and Sanson to work together, giving both of them the same authority, regardless of rank. He knew that there styles of battle were similar, and even though he disagreed with there tactics, he couldn't help but appreciate the results that they usually got. This time the results weren't to favorable. Oskiman reserved final judgment. They still had one more target on which they could redeem themselves.

Oskiman preferred head on fights to all of the hide and seek that was going on elsewhere. The general's fleet of ten Imperial class Star Destroyers and twenty-five Victory class Star Destroyers dropped out of space, and the entire population of the shipyards orbiting the planet Yeswique was caught totally by surprise. Yeswique was deep into New Republic territory, and although it was very valuable to the New Republic, it wasn't near the border and therefore wasn't heavily guarded.

Oskiman grinned as he thought about the New Republic's dilemma. Just because he didn't agree with the previous strategies of Qwi'tek and Sanson, didn't mean that he didn't plan to take advantage of them. The New Republic fleet was receiving a very desperate call for help from Yeswique, of this Oskiman was sure. The New Republic had just received a distress call from Gensiffery that had turned out to be a trap. Now they were receiving another distress call. Oskiman was sure that the size of his fleet was being sent along with the call for help. As viable a target as Yeswique was, the New Republic wouldn't be able to help but think that this was another lure. The size of Oskiman's fleet meant that if help was going to be sent, it would have to be larger than a third of a task force. This would bring a large number of ships away from patrolling the border and leave it vulnerable to further Imperial attack.

Oskiman was almost giddy with anticipation. He cared not whether the New Republic sent help or not. He was not bluffing. He was here to turn these valuable ship yards into worthless pieces of orbiting junk. He started this plan of destruction only twenty seconds after exiting hyperspace.

There were about ten minor capitol ships guarding the ship yards and Oskiman's Imperial Destroyers decimated them first. Mounted turbo lasers, that were meant to protect the base from meteorite showers that were common around Yeswique, proved to be of little use against the behemoth of a fleet that was invading its space. Laser fire shook the space station and personnel were scrambling in every direction, either to war or to the few escape capsules on the perimeter of the disk shaped station. Since there were no fighters protecting the ship yards, Oskiman assigned a few TIE squadrons to take out the ejecting escape capsules and to destroy the unlaunched ones.

Turbo lasers tore apart the outer hull of the station and started several chain reaction explosions the reduced the station to a smoking wreck. The few unfinished ships, that were docked at the ship yards, met a similar fate. They would never know the joy of flying, yet the would experience the horrors of crashing. The pummeled wreckage began to loose orbiting speed and thus was quickly falling towards the planet below.

Oskiman watched as the smoldering metal began to glow red hot in the upper atmosphere. This battle was over just shortly after it had started. The reinforcements en-route to Yeswique, if there were ships coming, would find an empty sky above a heavily bombarded planet.

Although the battles at Frection and Gensiffery were not crushing defeats, they were the only non victories that the Empire endured. A large fleet of New Republic ships had been pulled off border patrol to help the ship yards, and only minutes later, three different Imperial fleets attacked border targets that had been made clear by the departing fleet. The Empire had made its first attack, and they could claim a decisive victory.

***

The three W-wings and two large transports landed gently on the surface of the raped surface of Gensiffery. Cries of help assailed the New Republic aid crew immediately. They were supposed to have jumped to their next rendezvous point, but Bep had insisted that they send some kind of medical aid down to the people on the bombarded planet.

A woman ran up to Vince and tugged on his arm. "You have to help me. My son is trapped in our house." Vince looked to where she was pointing and saw a crumpled building.

"Come on guys." The three of them ran over to the collapsed house and struggled to lift the heavy slabs of concrete.

"We can't budge these," Bep commented on the obvious.

"Do you know where he is ma'am?" Jon asked, but Bep already had his medical scanner out and was checking out the rubble.

"He's over here!" Bep shouted.

The boy was hidden under the lower portion of the slanted roof. Jon pulled his gun that he always carried and blasted the upper portion. Vince was about to question the sanity of the action, when a small portion of the elevated roof exploded. The rest of the slab shook slightly, but steadied itself. Jon leaped into the hole he had created and crawled under the slab toward the trapped youth. He appeared moments later with the kid in his arms. By then a medic had arrived, and she took the boy from Jon's arms.

The mother rushed over to thank Jon and then hurried after the medic.

The trio went around to the rest of the fallen houses and wrecked buildings. They helped many other frantic parents and desperate children. They reunited living relatives, and in many cases, dead ones. Their anger grew at each dead child they found.

The Empire had killed these people for no reason. This wasn't a military target The attack was merely enacted to bring the New Republic running, which they promptly did, though it looked to be of no avail.

There was an entire continent of suffering individuals, and the W-wing pilots couldn't possibly help everyone. They needed to get back to their fleet but made sure that the medical frigate in orbit would stay there as long as its supplies lasted.

Vince, Jon, and Bep reentered their ships, and soon, space. As they entered hyperspace to rejoin the fleet, they promised each other that they would make the Empire pay.

***

Anakin felt the cry of distress before he heard it. Ewoks began screaming all around him. They were running to and fro in search of rope and wood. Anakin listened carefully to their hurried jabber, and surmised that some of the ewoks in the village were in peril.

Anakin waded through the turbulent sea of furry creatures until he came to the scene of the accident. A rope bridge had broken, and three ewoks had been on the bridge when it snapped. Those three ewoks were now clinging desperately to the wooden planks of the broken bridge as it swung from its unbroken end. The far end was a solitary tree hut with no one on it, and the far end was not designed to support the full weight of the bridge and was slowly breaking. Also, the stubby fingered paws of the three dangling ewoks were not designed to hold onto the wide wooden planks, and Anakin could tell that they were barely holding on. A quick glance down told Anakin that the ewoks had very little chance of surviving the forty foot drop, and that realization propelled him into action.

Anakin leaped across the thirty foot gap between the main village and the island and landed smoothly on the far side. A quick search of the lone hut found him a strong rope, and he tied it to a branch and lowered himself down. He gathered the first ewok under his arm and used the Force to pull himself back up to the island. He immediately went down for the second ewok, but he was a little scarred and Anakin had to pry his short fingers from the broken bridge. The jostling of the bridge caused the third ewok to loose his grip. The observing ewoks squawked in horror, and Anakin looked down to find the source of their terror. He could barely see the descending ewok against the backdrop of the forest floor, but he could feel his fright very clearly through the Force. He mentally caught the furry midget only two meters above the ground and slowly levitated him back up. Only after all three ewoks were safely standing on the island, did the observers finally relax.

That night Anakin was treated to a feast and was officially branded a member of their tribe. Anakin slept in comfort that night on a newly stuffed bed and a newly stuffed stomach. He fell asleep with sounds of ewok songs in his ears, but dreamt of human screams.

The vivid images of the nightmare flashed through his mind with incredible speed, waking him instantly, yet allowing him to see the entire dream before he opened his eyes. Yavin IV! It was in danger! He had seen the temples in ruins and the students screaming in pain. Some were dead, others injured, and the rest morning over the disaster. Anakin could not decipher the cause of this calamity, but he could only be sure of its validity. He had to leave. He didn't know how far in the future this vision was, but he couldn't take any chances.

Anakin hurriedly gathered the small amount of belongings he had brought from his E-wing. He rushed out of his hut and was met by two elder ewoks.

"I have to go," he said in their native tongue.

"Why so abruptly?"

"My friends are in trouble and they need my help."

The ewoks understood and wished him luck.

Anakin ran to the edge of the small village and jumped off into the open air. He funneled the speed and acceleration of his falling into forward movement, and he flew through the trees. Anakin slowed his flight as he neared his E-wing, and a minute later, the ewoks watched the red glow of the one man fighter as it flew out of the atmosphere.

****

Chapter 19 "Laya"

Tenel Ka paced nervously in one of her mansion's luxurious living rooms. Chewie was seated in a large soft chair, wearing the same worried look that shrouded Tenel Ka's face. Their concerns were identical and didn't need mentioning, but Tenel Ka did anyway. "Leia hasn't been herself lately." Chewie growled an unneeded agreement.

It had been only two days since Leia had been released from jail, and Laya had been trying her hardest to play the role of Leia, but she was just a little off pace, and Tenel Ka and Chewie had been quick to pick up on it. The only thing Laya had going for her is that Chewie and Tenel Ka didn't have any reason to believe that she was an impostor.

"Maybe we should do something tonight to try to get Leia more comfortable with her situation. So far this hasn't been much of a vacation."

Chewie agreed and barked his suggestion. "An official apology dinner?" Tenel repeated. "That's not a bad idea. It's a way for my government to say their sorry for Leia's inconveniences. I could invite my parents and a few select dignitaries. Leia would have to have fun. I don't think she has participated in anything since she's been here."

Laya wasn't in the room, but she was listening with her keen hearing. Laya also agreed that a dinner was a perfect idea. It would give her an excellent opportunity to assassinate the queen of the Hapes cluster.

Laya waited an hour while she monitored Tenel Ka's progress of organizing the upcoming dinner. Laya was fully functional when it came to the consumption of real food. Although she didn't need any physical nourishment, she had a hollow cavity in which she could store an adequate amount of food. The only thing that she had to be careful about is to not consume too much. Although it would have no adverse affects on her, and she was more than capable to store large amounts for a long time, she didn't want to appear like a gorging pig in front of the Hapes cluster dignitaries. Although Laya doubted that she would let the dinner progress as far as the actual serving of the food before she made her move.

Tenel Ka came into the room a few minutes after Laya heard her disconnect from her last conversation. Laya tried to assume the position of a napping princess. Laya stirred as Tenel Ka opened the door, and she sat upright on her couch.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

Laya managed a weak, tired smile. "I was getting up anyway. What is it?"

Laya looked directly at the young Jedi, glad that the princess of the Hapes cluster didn't make a habit of over using her Jedi skills. Any other Jedi would have scanned Laya as soon as they had returned from the security complex. Laya had done as much research into the habits of Tenel Ka as she could and was pleased to find that she didn't use her skills except in dire situations. Laya hopped that they would never encounter that dire situation. "I have organized a small dinner tonight. You came here for a vacation and haven't even done anything yet. You've been drugged, arrested twice, and kidnapped. Although that's what you've been used to in the past with your war against the Empire, it's hardly the kind of vacation were used to giving."

"Thank-you," Laya said, "and I'm sorry that I've been acting so strange lately. Like you said, I have had a rough time so far. Maybe tonight can be the beginning of the actual vacation."

Tenel Ka accepted this response and turned to leave. "Oh," she stopped and turned, "I almost forgot. The dinner is in two hours."

Laya nodded and watched Tenel Ka resume her exit. As the door closed behind Tenel Ka, Laya wiped the smile off her face and replaced it with an evil grin. She spent the next two hours planing her moves. She dressed in formal clothes and did her hair just like she had seen Leia wear it before. She wore expensive jewelry and put make-up on for the first time in her life. Laya decided finally on a bomb. She could place the bomb on the underside of the table and then excuse herself from the table. She hid two explosive devices in the hollow compartments in each of her thighs.

Laya left her room and met Chewie and Tenel Ka in the large living room. Tenel Ka was dressed similarly to Laya and even though Chewie was neatly groomed, Laya found it hard to hide her disgust at the hairy beast.

The transport ride to the dinning hall was short. Laya examined the architecture of the fabulous building. If she got the opportunity to place the second bomb, she would want to know where the building's structure was the weakest. It appeared that the building was very well built, and any spot would be just as good as any other spot.

They exited the vehicle, and a valet whisked the transport to an unseen parking facility. The entrance lobby to the building was nothing short of spectacle, but Laya had to remember to be awed. Robots tend to see most things with a simple indifference. As Laya passed through the doorway into the dinning hall, several beepers went off. Laya cursed herself inwardly - metal detectors. Of course security would be tight in this building.

The security officers walked purposefully up to Laya, but stopped abruptly when they saw who it was. Laya had a brief glimpse of hope. They wouldn't dare harass her after what Leia had already been through. She gave them her best smile. "It must be all of this jewelry I'm wearing. I knew I over did it."

Off to the side, Laya saw Tenel Ka give the guards an evil look. Laya knew what that look meant. These security officers had about as good a chance to perform a body search on Laya as they would have to throw a snowball through a super nova and be able to catch it on the other side.. Against their better judgment, the two guards backed away.

Laya walked up to Tenel Ka. "Thanks. I thought that I would have to go through another ordeal."

Tenel Ka shrugged. "There was no reason for them to touch you. I'm sure that your lightsaber alone has enough metal to set off the alarm."

"What lightsaber?"

Tenel Ka stopped short. If Laya could sweat, she would have been gushing out of every pour. Tenel Ka looked down at Laya's barren hip. Laya tried to make a quick recovery. "Of course I didn't bring it. This is a formal dinner. Why would I bring a weapon? I don't plan on killing anyone." Laya couldn't resist throwing in that last line, hoping that Tenel Ka would find it humorous, but for different reasons than those Laya was thinking of.

Tenel Ka wasn't smiling. Chewie wasn't smiling either. "What about the Jedi hope?"

Laya was totally confused. She knew that Jedi wore their lightsabers often, but Leia wasn't even a real Jedi. Besides, like she said before, this was a formal dinner, there was no place for weapons. After all, Tenel Ka wasn't wearing a lightsaber. As well as she could reason out her innocence, she felt very uneasy as she watched Tenel Ka peer at her with half opened eyes. Laya realized that she was performing the Jedi scan that Laya had so much feared.

Tenel Ka opened her eyes and regarded Laya in a totally new light. "What have you done with princess Leia."

Laya regarded the Hapan princess standing before her in her battle ready stance. She laughed inwardly at the stance. Laya very much wanted to fight Tenel Ka, even more because of Leia's boast that Tenel Ka was better than Laya was. Laya however, knew that this wasn't the time for battle. She was sorely out numbered.

"Congratulations princess. You have foiled my well laid plans. I cannot say that I am happy, but I am impressed."

Upon Laya's confession Chewie, who had been confused at first, rushed Laya. Laya was finally able to let go of her dislike for the wookiee with a swift kick to Chewie's midsection. Laya knew about wookiee's strength, but was very surprised when the hairy bodyguard casually grabbed the androids leg and flipped her backwards.

By now the entire population of the dinning hall was observing the confrontation. Laya scowled at the group that was closing in on her. She reached down to her thigh and removed one of the bombs. She held it up, and everyone recognized it for what it was. "Curse you all!" Laya screamed as she flicked the five second fuse and tossed it into the air. As everyone bolted for cover, Laya ran for the exit. Almost everyone bolted for cover. Chewie realized that Leia was still in danger if not dead, and this thing was responsible. Chewie had spent enough time with Han to be familiar with many similar kinds of bombs and knew that this model had a five-second fuse. Chewie had counted to three by the time the bomb came back down. Laya had reached the outside doors by this time, and Chewie caught the bomb and threw it in one smooth motion.

Laya was outside when her own electronic timer told her that the fuse had half a second left. She half turned her head to see the bomb break through the glass doors she had just passed through. The explosion deafened her as she rode the shock wave high into the air. She crashed into a Hapan crang tree, and the strong trunk didn't yield a millimeter. A human would have died from the blast, a large beast would have died from the tree collision, and anything else would have been exterminated instantly when the wall of flame rolled over them. Laya's clothes were incinerated and half of her artificial skin was melted off. Anyone looking at Laya wouldn't even recognize her as a functioning machine. Laya could sense the second bomb in her leg going critical. Her lightning quick reflexes saved her from total destruction. She managed to throw the bomb fifteen feet away from her before it too exploded, sending her back towards the dining hall. Her metal frame smacked against the stone building at a tremendous velocity. She crumpled into a heap at the base of the wall. She sat motionless for a while surrounded by the shrapnel of the two blasts. Her eyes lit up as her back up power source kicked in. She stood up and took a quick survey of her appearance. All of her metal bones were visible, and charred pieces of plastic were dripping off her frame. She frowned slightly at her ghastly body. Oh, well. She heard coughing and choking coming from her right and looked at the gaping hole in the building where the doors had been.

Laya leaped of the ground, surprised by how light she suddenly felt. By the time Tenel Ka and Chewie exited the smoky haze that shrouded the entrance of the dinning hall, Laya was gone.

***

Leia heard Laya enter the spaceship and knew that she was in trouble. Leia had survived on the meager rations that Laya had left for her and was very weak. She could hear the metal clang of her captures footsteps as Laya approached her cell. Laya didn't bother to open the door but ripped it down with her metal claws. Leia yipped in fear at Laya's metal skeleton. Leia had previously just thought she was just some kind of clone.

"You are dead," Laya said bluntly and with all certainty. Leia had no doubt that Laya was telling the truth and didn't struggle as she was picked up and hurled against the wall. Leia slumped into unconsciousness.

Laya stood over her with her razor fingernails bared. She hesitated when she saw Leia's unconscious state. "No you don't," she said. "You are going to be fully conscious when I kill you."

Laya heaved the broken princess off the floor and headed out of her spaceship. She made her way to a small creek and dunked Leia's head in. Leia coughed and sputtered.

"Wakie, wakie." Leia stared up into her tormentors eyes, or what served as her eyes. The two, silver, opaque sensors seemed unseeing and unfeeling. Leia was aware of a new strength and figured that she was out of the range of the ysalamiri. Laya could feel the tensing in Leia's muscles and figured the same thing. She made a lipless smile, this could be interesting.

The metal monster threw Leia toward a tree. Leia was no master with the Force and knew she couldn't win a straight up fight, but she could control a few things. Leia mentally redirected her flight path and somersaulted to the forest floor. She started to run with Laya chasing her.

As she ran, Laya ripped off a branch and hurled it at Leia. The branch tangled Leia's legs and she came crashing to the ground. She used her feet to bring the thrown branch up to her hands and rolled over with the branch in her hands just as Laya swung down with another branch. Leia made a successful block, rolled away, and got to her feet.

Laya stepped toward her and let go a lightning fast series of swipes and jabs with the branch. The one Jedi related thing that Leia had been able to practice with some regularity was lightsaber dueling, and she parried the blows. Laya noticed Leia's skill and swung extra hard. Leia blocked it, but both branches broke in half.

Laya began swinging with her claws. Leia leaped backwards from one particularly close swipe and watched as the mechanical claw took a large chunk out of a near-by tree. Leia dodged another close swipe and tripped backwards over a large root. Laya kicked her fallen body and sent Leia into a tree. Leia had the breath knocked out of her and the android leaped on her crippled form. Leia could feel the metal claws tear at her flesh. She could also feel that they weren't doing any major damage, but rather, Laya was simply scratching her, prolonging the fight.

"If you're going to kill me, do it!" Leia screamed, giving up hope.

"Oh, don't worry, I will."

"I'd rather you didn't," a voice from behind spun Laya around.

Tenel Ka and Chewie stood there, their outlines made distinct by the setting sun.

"How did you-" Laya started.

"Burning clothes leave a very distinct odor," Tenel Ka responded. Chewie gave a few quick snorts of his nose as if Laya didn't already know what they were talking about. Curse the wookiee's sense of smell.

Chewie saw Leia's crippled form as Laya got up from her. The enraged wookiee started to charge Laya but Tenel Ka held him back. "This is my fight Chewie. You tend to Leia."

Tenel Ka was standing in a small clearing and waited for Laya to join her. Laya quickly noticed that Tenel Ka was still not wearing a lightsaber. Laya thought this odd. A Jedi entering battle should always have a lightsaber.

"Where is your weapon?" Laya asked as she drew near the young Jedi.

"They are right here," Tenel Ka responded, taking a step forward and hitting Laya with a one-two punch so fast that Laya hadn't even seen them coming. Tenel Ka finished her opening flurry with a spinning leg kick that sent Laya to the ground. Laya lashed out as she fell, but Tenel Ka was already flipping back out of the way.

"Impressive," Laya said as she got up cautiously.

Tenel Ka didn't bask in the compliment because she could see that her attack had done absolutely no damage and had only put more caution into the android. Laya made a quick attack, which Tenel Ka blocked and dodged smoothly. The two of them continued to spar for a few tense seconds until Laya performed a perfect leg sweep that sent Tenel Ka to the ground. Laya lifted her foot to stomp the life out of her, but Tenel Ka caught the foot before its decent and pushed with all her might, flipping Laya backwards.

Again the flip did no damage to the relentless android, but Tenel Ka's forearms were sore from blocking the strong attacks, and her side and legs were sore from her fall. Laya's attacks came quicker this time. Tenel Ka did more dodging, not wishing to make contact with the strong metal arms. She soon found herself pinned against a tree. Laya made a tremendous swing, which Tenel Ka managed to dodge only by a fraction of a second. Laya's claws cut through the small tree and brought it crashing down on her metal frame.

Tenel Ka was breathing hard as she watched Laya casually throw the tree of herself and get back up.

-The Force. Use the Force.- Tenel Ka could hear the message clearly in her mind and knew that it must be coming from Leia. -It is not a crutch for the weak, but rather a tool for the strong. The robot is not human. It is faster and stronger than you. Do not wage our lives against such odds.-

They were words of wisdom, Tenel Ka knew. She was being childishly stubborn. Refusing to use the Force only made her weaker. Laya came in again, but this time Tenel Ka met her with an open palm to the middle of her chest. Laya had been expecting more dodging from her opponent and had let her guard down. She was unworried when she saw the attack come in. She had gauged this warrior's strength during her first attack and Laya knew that she was incapable of hurting her. This is why Laya stopped her attack in amazement as she was not only hurled back by Tenel Ka's strike, but she felt several of her metal ribs crack. Laya landed hard and stared down ant her sparking chest.

Laya looked up in time to see Tenel Ka summon with her hand. A thick branch broke off a near-by tree and flew to the Jedi's hand. She charged, caught the branch, and swung all in one motion. The branch connected solidly with Laya's skull and she went flying once more.

Laya got up with a new grim determination. If the Jedi wanted to play rough, she could play rough. Tenel Ka swung again, but Laya caught the branch and broke it over her knee. In the same speed of movement, Tenel Ka grabbed Laya's arm and broke it over her knee.

The useless arm hung limply from Laya's shoulder, and she swung her good arm violently. Tenel Ka stepped inside the swing and hit the incoming arm once, twice, three times in quick succession. Each hit bent another piece of metal, and Laya was totally off balanced. Tenel Ka jumped into the air and performed a spectacular spinning kick that sent Laya toward the same tree that Tenel Ka had summoned the branch from.

Laya was impaled on the broken branch. She struggled futilely, as her energy cell began to drain. She saw Tenel Ka close her eyes and could feel her metal limbs expanding. Her every joint was being strained beyond their limits. Finally she burst into a thousand little pieces.

****

Chapter 20 "Questions"

Lando and Jim made their way carefully across the bridge. The bridge spanned the large ditch that had housed the huge cave worm that had been jettisoned into space by an Imperial bomb. Mansenchin and Trince had built the bridge out of the broken radio tower.

Lando and Jim made their way safely to the other side and moved anxiously toward the computer room. They had searched the many rooms of the computer center and had found twelve rooms that were full of equipment and computers. Lando stepped cautiously through the hole in the thick metal door, avoiding the jagged edge that was the result of Trince's hasty cutting open of the door with his lightsaber.

Jim followed Lando into the room and drew a deep breath. They had had the room open for a week, but it still took Jim's breath away. Lando had gathered some of the equipment into one of the inner rooms and he wanted Jim to take a look at them. Lando knew a lot about electronics, but Jim was the engineer, and Lando liked to be positive about things before he moved ahead.

When they entered what had been unanimously voted the main control room, Lando and Jim found that Jalence was sitting behind one of the computers. Being Lando's only computer expert, Jalence was the one who had recieved the task of trying to break into the the Imperial data banks. Above all else, was trying to find a communications device.

"How's it coming?" Lando asked as they entered the room.

"Slow," Jalence admitted. "I have to break through a lot of unseen codes. Fortunately the codes are very old, and I have some experience in hacking."

Lando looked at him with sarcastic shock. "And I had always thought of you as totally innocent."

Jalence didn't respond but continued to work, staring at the screen. Lando ushered Jim over to the collection of Imperial technology. There was a long torpedo shaped tube, a small box shaped contraption with several electronic hook-up jacks, an odd looking blaster riffle, and a medium sized oblong object that looked like half an egg.

"Interesting," Jim pondered.

"I've already figured out what this is," Lando said as he picked up the rifle. "It appears to be a equipped with a special aiming device, something the storm troopers could definitely use. It uses some kind of heat sensory to fire at a heat source. Kind of a heat seeking laser. But this other stuff," Lando made an all inclusive arm gesture, "I am at a loss for."

Jim crouched down and began to examine the egg shaped device. "I think I've seen on of these things before." Jim pushed his glasses further up his nose. Lando often wondered why he wore them. Lando did admit that they made him look more professional. "This looks a lot like a cloaking device that we salvaged off of a Imperial ship that attacked the Sluis Van shipyards. It appears to be a little bigger, though. This looks to be about three-fourths of a meter long. The one we salvaged was half this size, and it didn't have this slot here." Jim was analyzing the device as he talked. He poked at the slot with a screw driver that he always carried with him. He managed to pry the edge of the metal away, revealing a deep compartment. Jim emitted a low whistle.

Lando peered over his shoulder. Lando saw a swarming mass of multicolored wires criss-crossing every which way. "What is it?"

"This kind of cross wiring is the most complex I've ever seen in my life. You rarely see this kind of technology even in a Star Destroyer."

"What is it for?" Lando asked, getting impatient.

"By rewiring a system this much the energy flow increases by an incredible amount. You can imagine that sending a signal along one hundred meters of wire creates a much larger electric field than say sending the same signal along only one meter of wire."

"Wouldn't the resistance in the wires be that much greater too?"

Jim shrugged. "It depends what kind of wiring they used." Jim reached into his pocket and removed a sharp knife. He pulled up on of the slack wires and stripped a small part of it. "Listium. The best conductor known to man. This thing must have cost a fortune." Jim pointed to a cable that was connected to one of the plates that the wires were soldered to. "By routing the cloaking energy through these wires you could calibrate the device to create just about any size field you wanted to. Perhaps even large enough to cloak a Super Star Destroyer."

The section of wiring that Jim had uncovered lay to the left of the slot he had found. He started to pry away on the right side of the slot. Soon he had uncovered another compartment that looked almost exactly like the other one.

"So now is it twice as powerful as before?" Lando asked, seeing the new compartment.

"Not quite. I think it might be worse. This section isn't connected to the other one. It works independently." Jim examined it a little further. "Yea, this one is routed through a different device, a transmitter. I think this device sends out sensor echoes."

"You mean that they can send out what ever size sensor echo they wanted to? Making a TIE fighter look as big as a Star Destroyer?"

"That's right. They can go totally cloaked, or they can send out a false signal, fooling a ship's sensors. You might think that you're going up against a TIE, when in actuality, you are facing a Star Destroyer."

"I guess the bright side of this is that we haven't seen this technology on the battle field yet," Lando said. "Which means that this device is not only an original, but the only one made."

"Could be that this doesn't even work," Jim countered.

Lando shrugged and turned his attention to the next item. Jim picked up the small box shaped piece of electronics. "A transmitter of some kind?" Lando guessed. "Maybe a tracking device?"

"Maybe." Jim turned it over in his hands. He stopped when he found a small orifice. "It looks like something is missing. Lando do you have that small crystal that you always carry around?"

Lando shook his head. "I gave it away." Jalence looked up from his computer at this comment. Lando had loved that crystal. It had been one of a few that they had found in one of the sheds that was still here from the Imperial occupation. It had been perfect in every way. "I gave it to a friend." Must have been some friend, thought Jalence.

Jim didn't seem phased by this startling revelation. "It looks like this opening was designed for a crystal. This could be a beam splitter."

Lando looked dejected. "That's not so brilliant. We have those things now. They're not that great. Instead of changing a focused beam into many lesser beams, it turns into more of a 'blah' beam, with most of the energy wasted in the form of heat."

"I agree," said Jim, "but imagine one of those old splitters with one of our crystals installed in it."

Lando smacked his forehead. "Of course. If you could program a splitter to divide a beam into several distinct frequencies, a crystal of matching angles with incredible exactness could efficiently send them away."

They moved onto the fourth object. Lando had a guess about this last item, but hoped that Jim would prove him wrong. "Well for starters," Jim said, "it's a torpedo."

"I know that, and you know that I know that. What kind. Please don't tell me that it is what I hope it's not."

"Well," Jim said as he studied the surface of the deadly projectile, "the front third of the tube is made from a different type of metal than the rest of it. Two thirds of all torpedoes are composed of the guidance system, so it is a safe bet to say that whatever is encased in this different kind of metal, is what makes it special."

"What kind of metal is it?"

"Forestium."

Lando searched his memory and all he knew about metals. "Doesn't that have a really high melting point?"

"Yes. In fact it is the highest among all metals used in construction. Anything higher than it can't be shaped efficiently. But that fact shouldn't make a difference. Forestium is also very brittle. It will break under almost any kind of propelled collision."

"Chrasten is far more brittle than forestium, and with a lower melting point. It would have been easier to use that than having to fuss with melting forestium down. I think that the melting point plays a role in the detonation of this torpedo."

"Why?" Jim asked. "Most torpedoes, like we said, explode on impact, or they have a timed explosion. If you had to melt the outer shell of this torpedo you would have to fire it into-" Jim stopped when he realized where Lando was headed with this.

"Into a star," Lando finished for him.

"Are you talking about another Sun Crusher?"

Lando shook his head. "Not a Sun Crusher, just the super nova torpedo."

Jalence wasn't listening to their discussion but had turned in his seat to get there attention. "Lando, in what system did you say that the New Republic ran into trouble?"

Lando yanked himself away from the destructive weapon at his feet. "The Danzig system. Why?"

"I think I know what they ran into."

"So do we," Lando replied. "We just found evidence that supports the theory that a star went nova, destroying the New Republic fleet."

"I sincerely doubt that the Empire would risk blowing up a star in the Danzig system if they had this in there."

Lando walked over to where Jalence was sitting. "What are you talking about?"

Jalence pointed at the screen. "I finally broke the codes. I couldn't find any communication software, but I did find a whole bunch of blueprints."

On the screen was the original Death Star. Lando had never seen it, but he recognized it from descriptions he had read before he had attacked the second Death Star. The blueprints were probably identical to the ones that the Rebellion had been able to steal. Lando looked at the bottom of the screen. Status: Destroyed.

Jalence pressed a key and another globe appeared on the screen. Death Star II. Lando noticed that this blueprint showed the Death Star as being completed. He remembered that there had been large structural pieces missing from the one he had destroyed.

Lando was about to comment about how none of this news was of any relevance, when Jalence pressed another key. The Dark Ring. Status: Under construction. Location: Danzig 359. Lando gasped at the numbers that covered the blueprint. A radius of over seventy-five million kilometers. It was large enough to safely encompass an entire star. It had a height of one hundred million kilometers and a depth of over fifty kilometers. The sheer mass of that thing was millions of times more than any Death Star the Empire had ever built. Lando glanced at the weapons. One thousand Death Star lasers and over a billion turbo lasers. Lando was speechless for a few seconds.

"I agree that the Empire wouldn't intentionally blow up Danzig 359. Although I would like nothing better." Lando looked around the computer room, for the first time realizing what this place actually was - a weapon center. "I think that it's time we took a little trip to Coruscant. I do believe that this information could prove quite useful to them."

****

Chapter 21 "The Arena"

"What did they do to my son?"

Han and Luke were pacing in their cell. It had been five days since their trial. Han had finally lost his patience. "It looked like he wanted to kill me."

"They probably used some kind of mind control. Just like the kind that they used on Cray and me on the Eye of Palpatine. Don't worry it's reversible. At least it was nineteen years ago. Who knows what kind of advancements they've made since then."

"Oh thanks, you're full of encouraging ideas."

"It's the whole idea of the Dark Lord of the Sith that scares me. If they actually got him to believe that he is the next Darth Vader, we could be in for trouble."

"What scares me is that I know Jacen wouldn't have come here alone. So where is Jaina, or maybe Lowbacca, or, if worst comes to worst, Anakin."

"I don't think mind control would work on Anakin. He is too strong in the Force. But if I'm wrong, and they have changed him into a Dark Lord, then were in more trouble than we were when we had the Emperor as an enemy."

"Is he that strong?" Han asked.

"He has that much potential, yes."

Han didn't want to think about the worst case scenario right now, so he changed the topic. "What the heck is the Arena. It sounds more like an entertainment facility than an execution chamber."

"I think you might have just answered your own question," Luke reasoned. "Everything their doing to us seems to be for show. The hardest thing for an Imperial army of clones to have is high moral. They have been out here in the middle of nowhere for who knows how long. They know that they have been forced here because of defeat and there is no bright hope. Unless they have some huge new weapon or fleet that we don't know about, they really have no hope for victory. All of this 'show' that they're putting on with us is for the sake of the men."

Han nodded. "I was thinking about that immediately before the trial. Vader would have killed us long ago. The same with Tarkin or the Emperor. The only person that I have any experience with that deals in these kinds of tactics is Thrawn.

"I heard a story from one of our Imperial prisoners back on Coruscant about how one time - I think it was when you evaded him in your X-wing - he promoted a man for a failure. It was the same failure that had cost a man his life the previous week."

"Thrawn would have made a good admiral in the New Republic," Luke said. "Ruling by hope instead of fear."

"Don't get me wrong," Han responded. "He's no pansy. He still follows the Empire's tradition of on-the-spot executions, but he's got a start in the right direction."

Luke shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter, though. He's dead."

"I wonder. With all these clones running around one can never be too careful."

"You think they would clone Thrawn?" Luke asked.

"Why not. They cloned the Emperor."

This new view gave Luke something else to think about, but not for very long.

The door to their cell, and two storm troopers were framed in the doorway by the hall light. "It's time to go."

Luke and Han looked at each other. "The Arena," they mouthed simultaneously, but said nothing out loud. They were ushered back through the hallway in the same direction that they had been taken to get to trial. The same transport was waiting for them outside. They were whisked through the forest, and Han decided to keep his mouth shut on this trip.

It was night time, and the city life was a little less active outside, but Han could see certain buildings that he imagined were taverns, were overflowing with people. Han thought that this city was turning into Mos Eisley.

They passed the building were the trial had been, and Han scowled at it. Luke nudged him in the arm and pointed of to the horizon. Han could see a large domed building and guessed, as Luke had, that this was the Arena.

People were swarming around the entrance of the Arena, and as they drew close, Han wondered how they were going to be able to get in in one piece. The driver of the transport answered Han's unspoken by turning away from the crowd, gaining access to a restricted entrance from a guard and entering the massive structure from the rear. They drove through a large concrete tunnel and came to a small inner chamber. The chamber was filled with lots of animal cages, and a fowl aroma lingered in the cavern.

The transport stopped and dropped off Luke, Han, and three other storm troopers. The storm troopers ushered them over to one of the larger cages. "You stay in here until it's your turn to play." The storm trooper locked the door of the cage. "I've got five thousand credits riding on your match, so you better lose."

Before Han could question the trooper he left. Long minutes passed and neither of the two caged prisoners said anything, each of them lost in his own thoughts of what was to come. They both perked up when they heard the motor of a ground transport approaching the chamber. The four wheeled vehicle was pulling a cage. Han could see a large spiny beast chewing on the remains of another animal. The image of these two animals locked in mortal combat in front cheering fans gave Han a sickening feeling as to what they were to expect.

The driver stored the cage in a different room and came back to the prisoner's cage. "You boys ready to have fun?"

"I hope we get to fight you," Han sneered. "Then we'll see who has the fun."

The guard laughed at Han's defiance. When he unlocked the door, his smile disappeared as he rapped Han across the head with a short metal pipe. "Come on you Rebel scum."

Han stumbled, but Luke supported him, and they were herded by the guard. Luke thought that this was a perfect time to try to escape. This was the first time that he and Han outnumbered their escort. Even though they were handcuffed, they might have a chance. Luke looked back at the single guard who was walking behind them. Luke could see the confidence in his stride and the smooth casual way in which he twirled his metal pipe. Luke understood that the Empire was tempting them to try to escape from this guard. More than likely he was an expert hand to hand fighter.

Han was still wincing in pain when Luke returned his gaze to the concrete tunnel in front of him. "I hope you're not planing an escape," Han winced. "I know him, or at least I knew the original. He's probably a clone. I thought I had recognized him at first and the knock on the head jogged my memory a little. His name is Wertrin. He was in charge of security at the colony where I rescued Chewie. Afterwards Chewie told me stories of how wookiees would be punished by having to fight him one on one. Chewie had never seen a wookiee beat him. He can do wonders with a knife."

Luke felt a sharp jab in his back. "Quit the chatter boys."

As they rounded a corner in the long tunnel, Luke could see a bright light ahead and the loud noise of thousands of people screaming. When the tunnel straightened, Luke could see the multicolored back drop of a diversified crowd. The tunnel was aimed at the center of the large stadium, and Luke could make out the center circle. As they got closer, Luke could see that two animals were fighting in the ring. A krayt dragon was pummeling a bantha.

Han and Luke were brought to the very end of the tunnel and stopped. From this vantage point they could almost see the entire stadium. It seated well over forty thousand, at least ten times as many people as there had been in the court room. The fight was finished, and the dragon gave a vicious cry of victory. Somehow a bunch either very brave or very stupid clowns ushered the dragon back into the cage. Luke was surprised that only one of the clowns were consumed by the dragon. They krayt dragon was native to his home planet of Tatooine, and although he had never seen one in action until now, he knew about their reputation.

When the central Arena was clear Luke felt another poke in his back. "Your turn." Luke and Han walked tentatively forward. "Oh, don't worry," Wertrin said in a mocking tone, noticing their hesitance, "you won't have to fight the krayt dragon. We've got something a little more . . - let's see, how should I put it - deadly."

Luke remembered all of the battles he had had, and could think of only one animal more deadly than a krayt dragon. He hoped that they didn't have to do battle with one of those.

"Something more deadly than that?" Han asked incredulously.

"There is something. Trust me, I've fought it."

"What?"

"Shut up you two, or I'll have to hit you on the head again," Wertrin broke in threateningly.

Han winced at the idea of another well struck blow and obeyed. They walked up to the Arena and heard the announcer presenting them to the crowd. Luke was interested to hear what the announcer was going to say, but the boos and whistles that they received drowned out the voice of the announcer. The din inside quieted quickly as the lights inside the large stadium went out. Two spotlights began roaming the crowd, occasionally passing over where Luke and Han stood. The loudspeakers began play some heavy bass, techno music. The announcer spoke:

"And their opponent tonight is straight from the cloning cylinders. We made a special trip to Skywalker's home planet for this one."

"I thought he said it wouldn't be a dragon?" Han whispered.

"There's something else there. Or at least that was there."

"We visited Jabba the Hutt's and found the DNA we were looking for. We call this battle the rematch of the century. Han and Luke versus Jabba's rancor."

The crowd erupted with delight. On the opposite side of the Arena a large curtain was pulled back revealing a large cage with a the rancor inside. As if on cue the huge beast let out an incredible howl.

***

Up in the stands, in a luxury box seat, Tallon reclined, waiting eagerly for the show. He usually didn't come out in public for these kinds of events. He preferred to remain more professional and stay aloof of such events as these. He needed to let off some steam, though. Frowinger had brought him the bad news of the botched job at the crystal mine. He could confirm that the bomb went off, so could fifty storm troopers that didn't make it home. Another twenty-five ex-storm troopers could verify that a large worm had come out of the side of the asteroid and eaten their shuttle. Frowinger hadn't thought that the explosion was strong enough to explode the entire asteroid, so it was likely that the Jedi had influenced the explosion in some way. It was also then probable that the mine was still open, and all of its secrets were available to the New Republic. At the time Tallon had felt like rescheduling Luke and Han's execution and pitting Frowinger against the Rancor instead. It was only the fact that the Empire needed all of its scientists that had allowed Frowinger to live through that meeting.

Tallon could have killed him and then cloned him, but he didn't like to work that way. A clone was never as sharp as the original. They had taken twenty-two years to clone Thrawn to ensure the best results. Tallon didn't have enough time to kill and clone his officers. The Emperor hadn't been as keen on efficiency as Tallon was.

Tallon directed his attention toward the Arena and saw that they were ready to take the rancor out of his cage. Clowns paraded around the cage. The Rancor didn't take too much prodding and in one swift motion the rancor had himself an appetizer.

"Clowns are a credit a dozen, are they not." Tallon turned around to find Admiral Thrawn standing behind him.

"Admiral," Tallon said quite surprised, "I didn't know that you came to the Arena."

"Oh, yes," Thrawn said with a mischievous smile that Tallon had not thought the Admiral capable of. "I frequent this fine establishment every weekend. I've made a small fortune betting on the fights."

Tallon could imagine that with Thrawn's unique ability to predict the outcome of events he could make a killing at a place like this. Still, Tallon was a little curious as to Thrawn's behavior. In all the reports Tallon had read about him, Thrawn was described as an officer of strict discipline and no room for fun and games. Tallon almost wondered if Thrawn was drunk, but he dismissed the thought as soon as it entered his mind. Thrawn was too much of a professional for that. This must just be his one vice. This was just how that incredible mind of his unwound. "And who did you put your money on tonight, the fearless Rebels or the fearful rancor?"

"Neither, actually," Thrawn said as he took a seat next to Tallon. "I chose the third category: a draw."

"A tie? I didn't know there was such a category."

"There wasn't until just a few minutes ago. Being an admiral gives you a little pull and I got the odds maker to give me the third category at the outrages odds of ten thousand to one."

"So you predict that the fight will end in a tie? Perhaps we should unleash a krayt dragon as well. I think that you're giving the Rebels to much credit."

"No, I fully expect the rancor to devour Solo and Skywalker and for me to loose the thousand credits that I wagered. I just couldn't bring myself to bet in favor of the enemy, and I didn't stand to make enough money betting against them, so I invented my own category."

Tallon thought that Thrawn was crazy, but he kept it to himself. Besides, the fight was about to start. They were taking the handcuffs off the fighters.

***

Luke stared at the huge monster as all of his horrible memories were pouring back to him. The beast didn't look exactly the same. Jabba's rancor had been covered by deep scars from all of his previous fights. Those scars weren't in its DNA, and so this rancor was unharmed.

"You beat this thing before right?" Han asked hopefully.

"Yea, you show me a huge door, and I'll drop it on him."

"Sorry, it's just that I haven't read the strategy book on how to fight a rancor."

"I don't think they've written one, Han."

"My point exactly, kid."

"The only advice I can give, other than running away,-"

"We're inside a force field," Han put in.

"- is that they have very slow reflexes."

However quick its reflexes were, the speed of the monster was incredible, and it demonstrated that to the fifty plus thousand in attendance. Han and Luke had to dive out of the way to keep from being crushed by the beast's initial attack. Luke decided to be aggressive and came up behind the monster. He jumped on to the back of its leg and meant to scale its back. The crowd cheered him on mockingly, glad for a little bravery, even though it could be confused for stupidity. The rancor had different ideas all together, and with one mighty kick backwards it launched Luke off its leg and into the air. Luke crashed into the force shield wall with incredible force. He fell limp to the ground.

Han saw the scene and felt sick. Luke couldn't have survived that collision. At first Han felt a blind hatred toward everyone in the stadium, but then reason took over and he tried to focus on the rancor.

Luke barely felt himself hit the ground as he slipped away into blackness. He could feel an intense throbbing bulge in his head and knew that he had a massive head injury and heavy internal bleeding. His eyes closed and his consciousness started to fog over. As he slipped into the coma of death, he felt his feet start to tingle. The queer sensation worked its way up his legs, and soon to his hands and arms, which were laying at his side.

Luke had seen both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda die, and he knew that a Jedi's body disappeared as it died. He wished he could move his head or open his eyes to watch. He could feel the tingling, which he guessed to be his body evaporating, reach his neck and then stop. Luke imagined the stadium's fright when they saw just his head lying on the ground. Luke caught himself in mid thought, if he was dead how could he still think.

For the first time Luke examined his surroundings. He had lost feeling in his limbs long ago, but he was now aware of a new sense, warmth. The warmth of death? No, he had always thought death to be cold. He couldn't help but think that he couldn't fully die, because he didn't have the Force with him. He wondered if somehow not having the Force during his death would prevent him from being able to fully leave life. Could part of him, the Force part, still be trapped somewhere.

Luke could feel warmth and wondered if he would be able to see anything. He couldn't feel his eyes, but he tentatively opened his mind. He was in some type of void that he couldn't understand. It wasn't darkness or light, yet it wasn't the gray in-between either. He could see varied patterns of colored light swirl around him. They looked like small gas nebulas. They were almost tangible, but Luke had no hands with which to reach out and touch them, so he reached out with his mind.

They were images. Images of life. Force inspired images. Luke had a burst of hope. He could see Force images. He felt a veil lift from his mind. As he reached out to embrace these images, he wondered where he was again. Was he in-between life and death. Was he dead. Was he still alive but in a coma. Or was he only dreaming. Luke needed an answer but could turn to no one.

Luke 'floated' about in the void of nothingness almost content to stay there for all eternity. Time seemed to have no meaning. Why should time have a meaning? He was a nothing in a nowhere. He guessed that he was just another Force inspired image floating amongst friends. Was he part of the Force? Was he in the sea of life that made up the Force? Was he in the Current?

When Luke had met the Fallanassi, they had told him about the Current. Luke had imagined that the Current was synonymous to the Force. They had described the Current as a river of life. It flowed everywhere there was life. Just like a stream anyone could use the life giving water to refresh themselves. The Current could be used to fight evil like water quenching a flame. Only people with buckets, or more specifically, the Fallanassi could get and use this water. It was for this reason that Luke had been shut out of their group. Even though he had the potential, in their mind he was trying to empty the river with a teaspoon and then using the water for destructive purposes, like drowning the enemy. Luke had tried to argue that the enemy wished to pollute the river, and that someone or something had to stop them.

The Fallanassi also had a special way in which they could hide themselves and others in the stream of energy. They explained it like pouring a cup of water into the ocean. The ocean is still very visible, but the cup has seamed to disappear. Luke felt as if he was in that stream of life, that Current. Only instead of his physical body, it was just his spirit, or essence, that had made the trip.

It was then that Luke remembered Han. He needed to go back. Han was fighting the rancor still, and Luke doubted that Han had a Current to hide in. Luke needed an answer. For the first time he tried to see the images around him as actual images instead of just Force projections. Individually they were thoughts. In small groups they formed words and sentences. In large groups they made up complete thoughts and paragraphs. As a whole they told him the answer.

In that instant Luke understood where he was, what he was, what he needed to do, and how to do it. It was all so simple that he chided himself for his immature attitude that had led him to such a point of earlier despair. The Force was not something you could turn on and off like a switch. The surgery had not taken away his Force ability, it had just changed its form. Like sending a current through a circuit backwards and attaining a negative charge. When his brain had started to go into a coma it began to shut down. As the brain stimuli began to slow, the ineffectiveness of the surgery became obvious. The ysalamiri field that his brain had been creating shrank in size as the brain waves faded into non-existence. As the bubble shrank, the Force took hold and stabilized the rest of his body. It slowed his beating heart and began to heal his wounds. The brain was still in a deep coma, but the Force refused to let the body die.

Right now he was a reflection, or more accurately, a shadow. Just like in the physical world, everyone has a shadow that shows where they are with respect to a light source. If you are far away from the light, your shadow is large, but dim. As you get closer to the light your shadow gets smaller but more distinct. He was his shadow. In the Force, which is life, everyone has a shadow. It is projected into the Current. When someone is full of life, or close to the light, their shadow is very distinct. As someone dies their shadow becomes larger and more faint. Finally their shadow melds into the main flow of the Current and is no longer distinguishable. Right now Luke was in-between. His body was close to death, but his life Force was still full.

Luke looked down at his body, from what vantage point he did not know. He reached into his brain but found an infinitesimal bubble still surrounding the spot of surgery. He knew that he could shut off the bubble by stopping the brain, but that would mean death to the body. Luke busied himself with the other side of his head, the side were the massive wound was. He liquefied the congealed blood and returned it to the blood stream. He found that he had an unlimited source of power while he was in the Current, and he spared none of it on healing his head.

When he had healed his head as far as he could without reviving himself, he traced a blood vessel away from the point of surgery back to his heart. He sent a solid pulse of blood along that path. When it reached its destination, it exploded against the node, tearing it from the brain. Immediately the Force rushed into the brain and fixed the wound.

As the node was replaced in the correct orientation, Luke felt a positive flow of the Force and a pulling sensation from his body. Before he left the river bank, for that is how he saw it now, he took one last look around. He saw the images, which were now shadows of actual people, walking up and down the river bank. He remembered what Yoda had told him once, "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." He saw a few people bending over to take a drink. He saw one person using a bucket to draw water, and he laughed at the idea of him using a teaspoon, knowing know how silly it seamed. He watched as people died, and their shadows grew vague and finally fell into the river. He saw other people being born, and small shadows emerged from the river. Small not because the were weak, but small because they were so close to life and there shadows were very intense.

Luke took in the whole scene, and he felt as if several people stopped moving and turned to look at him.

Thank-you.

You're welcome. May the Force be with you, always.

***

Han was just about to make a suicide run at the rancor.

-Han.-

Han paused.

-Han.-

Luke? Han looked over at his friend and was almost crushed by the pounding fist of the rancor. Han rolled to the side, agreeing with Luke that the creature's reflexes were indeed slow. Han ran through the rancor's legs.

-Han.-

-Luke?- Han thought back.

-Yes, I'm here, Han.-

Han had a little time while the rancor turned around. He looked at Luke's still motionless form. Han couldn't speak telepathically, but he could think and have Luke read his mind. He had communicated that way with Leia many times, but they were usually involved in very intimate acts at the times of those conversations. Intimate acts that Han had no intention of performing with Luke, much less with a rancor present. He replied anyway. -I thought you were dead.-

-I am. I just haven't stopped thinking yet. I'll tell you all about it sometime. But that's not important right now.- Luke paused as Han barely missed getting stepped on. -Remember Dathomir?-

-Yea, those rancors were a little more friendly.-

-Have you tried making friends with this one yet?-

-What kind of question is that?- Han hit the ground hard as he wasn't totally successful in dodging the last blow. He felt blood running down his shoulder and rolled out of the way as a large foot just missed the finishing blow. -You want me to go up an introduce myself? He seems a bit edgy.-

-I'll help you. Remember that the crowd is looking for a good show.-

Han was in pain from that last blow and realized that he wouldn't be able to dodge another one. He ran out in front of the huge monster and turned to face it. The rancor paused, contemplating his quick opponent's new strategy. Rancor's were not beasts of much intelligence, and they didn't contemplate anything for too long. It charged.

Han threw all of his trust into his friend and held up his hand. "Stop!"

The rancor stopped dead in his tracks. Luke was sending it strong commands with the Force, and he wasn't using a teaspoon.

Han saw the rancor's reaction and compared it to the crowd's. He liked them. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. My name is Han Solo."

The crowd was furious. The beast stood tall and pounded his fist against his chest. He let out a bellow that Han believed to be an introduction, but Han was clueless as to what the beast had actually said.

-Rachtog.-

"Hello, Rachtog." Han extended his hand.

The rancor, who was now totally under Luke's control, ambled toward Han and extended a clawed finger that still had Han's blood on it. Han grasped the finger in a firm hand shake.

***

Tallon was beside himself with anger. He had just seen Solo shake hands with a rancor. Now it looked like he was scratching the thing behind the ears. Tallon turned to Thrawn. "Should I have Solo killed?"

Thrawn shook his head. "What ever he did to that beast, he's earned his life for today. Not to mention he earned me ten million credits."

Tallon was shocked, he hadn't realized it at first. Though Skywalker looked dead, Han and the monster had indeed fought to a draw. He brought his communicator up to his mouth and gave orders. Seconds later he watched as dozens of storm troopers scrambled around the outside of the Arena.

"Make sure you have Dr. Kendel check out Skywalker's surgery when you get back to the mountain base," Thrawn said, but Tallon wasn't listening that closely. He was busy watching the events bellow him.

***

Han watched as a flicker of light appear and then disappear around the Arena, and he guessed that the force field was deactivated. As soon as the field was down, twenty storm troopers fired at the rancor, and the beast fell, either dead or unconscious, almost on top of Han. He barely scampered out of the way and found himself surrounded by troopers.

-What about all these storm troopers?- Han paused but got no answer. -Luke?- He looked over at Luke's still form. Storm troopers swarmed around him. Han thought he heard one of them yell something to the extent of him still being alive but in some kind of coma.

Han looked back at his own group of men in white and black. He found himself staring one trooper right in the helmet. "I had twenty-five thousand credits bet on your life. You owe me, pal."

"Too ba-" Han started, but was cut off by the butt of a laser rifle colliding with his head. Han joined Luke in a comatose state, only not quite as deep.

****

Chapter 22 "Getting Even"

The three men walked up to the bartender with no intention of buying drinks.

"Where is she?"

The bartender continued to dry the glass he was holding as if he hadn't heard the man.

"Hey, I was talking to y-"

"You won't be talking for very long," the bartender said nonchalantly as he put down the glass and picked up another one, still not looking at them. "If by 'she' you mean who I think you mean. Trouble with that one isn't a healthy business."

"If we were looking for advice, we would gone to a stangin' psychiatrist. Now are you going to tell me where we can find her. We have business."

"We were told by someone that a friend of ours was last seen with a woman who frequents this establishment," another one of the men spoke up.

"You didn't bring enough men," he said as he looked at the speaker's companions, but he nodded toward the far corner of the bar anyway. As the three men walked toward the lone brunette, the Barkeep spoke up. "What color do you guys like your coffins?"

"What?"

"You're right, she'll probably bury you herself."

Jaina didn't take any notice of the men as they sat at her booth. One of them slid in next to her while the other two sat opposite her. "Have a seat gentlemen. What can I do for you?"

Jaina finally looked up from her drink to see two blasters pointed at her face. She felt a third one poked into her side. She laughed inwardly at these weak males. They thought that their guns were so big and powerful. How wrong they were.

"Hello, I'm Greshon. This here is Drake and Ikrick," Drake and Ikrick nodded there greeting from across the table, keeping the guns level. "We hear that you had a little business with a friend of ours. He goes by the name, Frintip."

"Yea we heard that he was involved with some prostitute," Drake said, and Jaina knew that he was going to try to say something clever, "and we thought you fit the bill."

Jaina was disappointed, but decided to play along. "Yea, I picked him up."

"Then what?" asked Drake.

"He wasn't my type, so I dumped him."

"Where?"

"In a dumpster."

Jaina felt the blaster dig deeper into her side. Her right hand sprang up from her glass and smashed into Greshon's face. His head flew backwards and hit the wooden partition that separated the booths. Jaina could hear a small cracking sound and tried to figure out if it was the wood or Greshon's head.

The blaster at her side slackened, but the two across the table made ominous whirring noises as they upgraded from stun to kill. Jaina decided not to kill them right here. She liked the bartender and didn't want to make a mess. Greshon was still a little foggy but he tried to regain control of the situation. He pointed his gun right next to Jaina's temple. "Give me one good reason not to splatter your brains on the wall."

"I'd kill you before you could pull the trigger." Jaina had resumed stirring her drink, disregarding the men around her. She could feel Greshon pull the trigger and she mentally flipped the safety on. She heard the useless click against her head. "I'm warning you," she said playfully.

"Boss," Ikrick said nervously to Greshon, "maybe we should take her outside. Everyone's looking at us."

Greshon flipped his safety back off and agreed. The three men got up. Jaina remained sitting. "Come on, whore. We're leaving."

"Bye. I'm not done with my drink."

"You're coming with us," Drake emphasized.

Jaina sighed and got up. As they passed the bartender she simply shrugged. "I'll be back in about five to finish my drink."

"I'll keep the booth open," the bartender promised.

Once they got outside Jaina stopped. "OK we're outside."

"You show us where Frintip is."

"Well by now he is probably in the city incinerator, but I-"

"No more games, miss."

"What happened to 'whore?' I kind of liked it."

Greshon was sick of the game. He stuck his gun back against Jaina's head. "Where is Frintip?!"

Jaina shrugged. "Hell. You wanna go say 'hi?' I can arrange a trip for you. But it's a one way ticket."

Greshon yanked her arm and pulled her into an alley way right next to the bar. Jaina shook her arm free from the smuggler. She was getting sick of this game too. "Does your head still hurt?"

"Like a herd of banthas ran over it," he said as he raised his blaster.

"Well, maybe I can do something about that." In one swift motion, Jaina drew her invisi-blade, ignited it, lopped off Greshon's head, and returned the weapon to her belt deactivated. "Feel better?" she asked the bleeding corpse.

Jaina turned to face Drake and Ikrick, who were standing behind her in a state of shock. From their point of view it looked like Jaina had waved her hand and Greshon's head had just fallen off. They didn't know about her invisible lightsaber. They began to fire rapidly. She stood there with her arms crossed as she redirected the bolts and they passed her wide left or right.

She walked slowly towards them. Ikrick tried to bolt back into the street, but Jaina mentally tripped him, and he hit the concrete hard. She approached Drake. He had stopped firing and she waved the gun out of his hand. She took the last two steps seductively and had an evil twinkle in her eye. "Still think I look like a prostitute. I could be yours."

Drake was backed up against the alley wall and frozen with fear. She walked into him and kissed him fiercely. As she kissed him she mentally choked him. He tried to gasp for air but she kept her lips tight. He squirmed like a fish out of water, for a few seconds and then slumped dead against the wall. She released his lips and he fell to the ground.

She turned to regard Ikrick, who was scrambling on the ground. "Please don't kill me," he whimpered pitifully.

Jaina thought about taking mercy on him, but if she did then he would just bring in more weak men to bother her. She did make it quick, though. She reached out toward him with an open hand and then quickly tightened it into a hard fist. Inside his chest, Ikrick's heart imploded. The man was dead before he knew what had happened.

Jaina went back into the bar and left the bodies for the street cleaning droids, happy that the stupid robots didn't ask any questions. To them one piece of garbage was no different from another.

***

Lando and Leia burst into Ackbar's private office at the same time.

"Where is my husband?"

"You've got to see what I've found."

"Where is my brother?"

"It wasn't a supernova."

Ackbar rose from behind his desk and raised his hands, trying to put an end to the unified and therefore, meaningless chatter. "One at a time, please."

Lando turned to Leia. "Go ahead."

Leia nodded in thanks. She turned to Ackbar her eyes beginning to rim with tears, tears that she had been fighting the whole hyperspace trip over to Coruscant. She blinked the salt water away and composed herself. "Do you know what happened to my husband and brother?"

Ackbar shook his head slowly. "We lost contact with them over a week ago. We have several guesses as to what happened, but all of them place Han and Luke in the same position: in enemy hands."

"Have any rescue plans been made?"

"We are very low on ships right now, your highness. The Empire is spreading us out with a collage of diversified attacks. Also with the amount of ships that the Empire is throwing at us, it is evident that their fleet is substantially larger than we had previously thought. We don't know what kind of protection the planet of Hastrin has. A single rescue ship could very well be met by a huge fleet of Star Destroyers. The only way to be safe would be to send a large scale invasion fleet. A fleet that we can't muster without right cause. Right now the populations of the border planets currently under attack demand our fleet more than Han and Luke. Many people have already counted them a loss."

"They aren't dead!" Leia said through gritted teeth, though she had nothing to back up her claim.

"Can you feel that they are alive?" Ackbar asked, knowing of her Force sensitivity and her link with her brother.

"I just know it," Leia said, not answering Ackbar's question. In fact, she couldn't feel her brother, but she chalked this up to the vast distance that separated them.

Lando sensed the conversation on a down swing and decided to enter. "I might have the cause needed to get that invasion fleet assembled."

Ackbar seemed intrigued and turned to regard Lando. "What have you found?"

Lando held up a holo crystal that contained the blueprints to the Dark Ring. "The crystal mine that I have been excavating has proven to be more than just a mine. It appears that it used to be an Imperial weapons headquarters. We found a former headquarters deep inside the well protected mine. Inside the computers there are hundreds of specs of every type, from blaster rifles to Super Star Destroyers. We found the blueprints to the first two Death Stars, and to another battle station which they are building in the Danzig system. A huge station which is being constructed around the star Danzig 359."

Ackbar looked skeptical. "Around the star? How big is this station?"

Lando walked over to a screen on the wall of Ackbar's office. He inserted the crystal into the appropriate slot, and a few short seconds later the blueprints flashed up on the screen. "Huge," Lando answered Ackbar's question. "Big enough to blot out the sun. Perhaps, making the sun look dimmer and unstable. I know what you believe to have happened at Danzig 359. Biggs' fleet was yanked out of hyperspace by the gravity well of the collapsing star and then destroyed by the star's explosion a few minutes later.

"I'm hear to tell you something different. I believe that the gradual reduction in the sun's brightness over the past seventy years, is not the result of its gradual collapse, but the result of the battle station being built up around it. A project that started around seventy years ago. I think that this station projected its own interdiction field and then destroyed the fleet. With as much power as this station is capable of generating, it is possible that they were able to cloak the entire station. This would account for the sun's sudden flare of brightness right before the 'super nova.' There are many ways to create a bright flash of light, the hardest of which would be to actually have a star explode."

Ackbar looked both terrified and confused. "Why would the Empire go through so much trouble just to fool us?"

"If you had known for certain that the fleet was destroyed by an Imperial fleet or a battle station, what would you have done?" Lando continued, knowing that Ackbar was picking up on his line of reasoning. "You would have sent a fleet in, gung-ho for battle. While the Empire was probably ready for such an attack, they obviously wanted to attack us first."

"And why should we attack this behemoth of a station now? If it is around a star, then it is quite immobile and of no threat to us or anyone else?"

Lando shook his head. "It's not a threat to us directly, but it is posing us with great threats indirectly. This station is equipped with two hundred million cloning cylinders. It could populate a small planet in a matter of months. It also is the shipyard where all of these knew Imperial ships are being built. If this station is left alone, it could produce a fleet five times the size of our own in only a few years."

"Do the Imperials know that you have these plans?"

Lando had not thought of this before. "There's a good chance they do, yes. We had a little run in with some Imperials that tried to destroy the mine before we could get inside. We, or should I say the Jedi, repelled them. They now probably assume that we have broken in. However, I'm not sure that even the Imperials are aware of what was down there. I think that they would have guarded these plans more carefully."

"If you remember correctly, Lando," Leia jumped in, "they quite willingly gave us the plans to the second Death Star in preparation for their little trap."

"I remember more than most," Lando said, for he had been one of the most endangered people in that trap. "I don't think this is a trap. There is no way that the Empire could have planned for us to have gotten these plans. It was way to difficult to get into the mines, to have expected it. Besides, there were other things in the hidden rooms that are far to valuable for the Empire to simply let us have."

Ackbar sat in silence, half thinking about the situation and half waiting for Lando to elaborate on what else he found. Ackbar knew of Lando's history of a being a gambler and knew that he enjoyed keeping his secrets, but he also knew of Lando's history in the New Republic's own military. If Lando thought that this was a valid target to hit back, then Ackbar was willing to give it some consideration. "You have studied the blueprints, correct?" Lando nodded. "Have you found a weakness?"

Lando frowned. "Not really. Once you've had time to look over these blueprints, you'll agree with me that this is the biggest thing ever created. It is impregnable."

"Then how do you suppose we attack it?"

"It's not an unknown weakness of theirs that I plan to exploit, but an unknown strength of ours."

****

Chapter 23 "Yavin IV"

Anakin's E-wing dropped out of hyperspace above the peaceful fourth moon of Yavin. He did a quick mental Force check of the Academy and found nothing wrong, yet. He descended quickly into the atmosphere and looked for the large temples of the Jedi School. He could feel the overwhelming presence of dread that he had felt during his dream now more than ever.

Anakin landed his craft and hurried out of the cockpit. He rushed into the nearest temple, which was the dormitory. It was lunch time and Anakin found the cafeteria only partially populated. He scanned the small crowd, many of whom looked up when he had entered, and found that it consisted of all the other students in his grade.

At the Academy there weren't distinguishable grades, as such, but more like age groups. Since the graduating class had left, there were only two grades left. Anakin was in the next highest grade and wasn't due to graduate for three more years. The next grade below them was the entry level grade. This bottom grade was slowly filled by any new students that came into the Academy and was very broad. The hunt for new Jedi had slowed considerably, and the only new Jedi that come to the school were usually descendants of graduates.

There were only six other students in Anakin's grade. Foister Durran, Kyp Durran's fifteen year old son, walked up to Anakin. Anakin had been somewhat reclusive at the Academy, but had managed to make a few friends. Foister, the son of his father's friend, was probably his best friend.

"Welcome back," Foister said as he drew near. "We heard that you went to Endor. What was it like?"

Anakin had missed his friend, but knew that he didn't have time for idle conversation. "We don't have time to talk right now. The Academy is in danger. Where are Masters Streen and Tionne?"

By now the other five students had congregated around the pair. One of the Calamarian twins, Angelic answered. "They took all of the younger students out on a mini field trip. They said they wouldn't be back for another day. What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Anakin said, "but I had a vision of impending doom, and I think that it will happen here, soon."

Angelic's twin sister, Angelina, spoke up. "I had a similar vision, but no one believed me."

"You're always having visions," Jenstim said. He was an independent male who was far to old for Anakin's grade. His arrogance and over self confidence had caused Master Skywalker to hold him back.

The remaining two human students, Garek and Celistin, who were dating, tried to comfort each other. "What can we do to prepare?" Garek asked, holding his girlfriend's hand.

Anakin was about answer, when he felt a presence enter the space above the planet. All seven students looked at each other. "It's here," Foister said bluntly.

***

Snotzenxer's Super Star Destroyer dropped out of hyperspace in the same location that Anakin had only minutes earlier. He had brought along a few extra Imperial Star Destroyers, but didn't think he'd need them. He had read all of the information he could on the failed attack of Yavin IV nineteen years ago by Grand Admiral Pellaeon. The Jedi students had been able to repel the fleet of ships by the use of some kind of Force blast. They had also destroyed most of the fighters and walkers by taking advantage of their forested surroundings. Snotzenexer had formulated two plans to easily thwart these two ploys.

Snotzenexer gave the order, and the small fleet of ships began to fire on the planet. They were not aiming at the temples, or even the students. The ships were instead clearing a huge strip of land of trees and bush. Laser blasts from the Super Star Destroyer, the Dark Fist, were clearing enormous areas of land, and it didn't take long for the ships to clear a ten kilometer strip about four hundred meters wide. The strip led right up to the Academy.

"Deploy the walkers, tanks, and bombers." Commanders relayed the order to different parts of the ship, and soon the huge mechanical monsters were shooting down toward the planet accompanied by the swift bombers.

***

The students had left the building and were staring up at the sky.

"What's up there?" Celistin asked.

"It's the Imperials, I bet ya," Jenstim said confidently.

"I'm not sure," Anakin replied. "There seems to be some kind of bubble around the ships. I can sense the power of the engines and the displacement of space, but I can't tell how big or how many there are."

"What could create a Forceless bubble?" Garek asked.

"Ysalamiri," Jenstim said. He was the oldest, and none of the other students had studied the point in history where Thrawn had introduced ysalamiri into the Empire's arsenal. Master Skywalker spent a lot of time in class on the subject of ysalamiri. "It must be the Empire."

The turbo laser bolts began to streak out of the sky. They all began to dive for cover. "Wait," Angelic screamed, "they're not shooting at us."

"She's right," her sister agreed.

They all watched as the bolts systematically cleared away a huge strip of trees.

"It looks like their making some kind of road," Garek observed.

"A road for what?" asked Foister.

"Walkers and tanks." Jenstim pointed to the sky. The barrage was over quickly and the students could see the projectiles coming down from the sky. They could feel the machines touch down just over the horizon, right in line with the treeless strip.

"We need a leader," Celistin announced.

"I nominate Anakin," Foister said quickly.

"He hasn't even built a lightsaber yet," Jenstim said. "I'm the oldest. I think that I-"

Anakin made a slight gesture with his hand and Jenstim stopped talking, not knowing why. Anakin drew his new lightsaber from underneath his cloak and ignited it. The students were standing in a circle, and Anakin pointed his weapon toward the middle of the circle. "I will lead you," he said matter-of-factly, "but you must listen to me. I have made some discoveries while I was at Endor. You must not fight with any fear in your hearts, and at no time should you ever fight with anger at your enemies. These are not only Dark emotions, but they are weak ones. If you will fight with emotion, fight with love. Love for this Academy and its students. Fight to save the Academy, not to kill the enemy. Don't fight defensively. Being hesitant to attack is also a weakness. Don't be scared to take the initiative in the attack. It is not wrong to start a fight as long as it is for a good reason. We will be fighting evil. An evil that has to be eradicated. We are fighting on the right side, the Light side. It will be necessary for us to kill, but it isn't wrong."

The rest of the students all understood and nodded, even Jenstim, who was still wondering what Anakin had done to shut him up. The six Jedi drew their lightsabers and placed the lit blades in the middle of the circle over Anakin's. "May the Force be with us."

They broke into groups. Anakin went with Foister, the twins stuck together, and Garek, Celistin, and Jenstim made the last group. The TIE bombers began to come in first. Although the Pellaeon attack on Yavin IV had happened well into their history lessons, Luke had taught it out of order just for situations like this.

Garek, Celistin, and Jenstim were familiar with the tactics used by their predecessors to combat the Imperials. They reached out to the bombers, but found that each of them too had ysalamiri on board. The trio scrambled quickly to the top of the dormitory to try to get the bombers on the same level. There weren't very many trees to use as weapons because of the earlier bombardment.

As the bombers came within range, they began firing on the temple. The trio tried to bend the lasers away from their targets, but since it was hard to pin point the lasers' origin inside the Forceless bubbles, they weren't very successful. Garek tried to make the best out of a bad situation and began hurling large chunks of the broken temple at the bombers. The bombers were able to avoid the chunks for the most part, but a few inexperienced pilots dodged the chunks only to crash into the temple or one of the few trees that were still standing.

Anakin, Foister, and the twins rushed the oncoming walkers. Scampering across the burnt ground, the Jedi made clear targets and the two legged walkers in the front took target practice. The Jedi held their ground as they worked to deflect the laser fire. Anakin was able to bat some of the bolts back at their source, destroying two walkers.

It soon became evident that Anakin was the most skilled fighter, and the others were barely holding on. After Anakin destroyed his second walker with the returning bolts, the walkers stopped firing on him and focused on the others. Anakin took the opportunity to move forward. Using the Force he ran faster than humanly possible and struck down the legs of the first walker he came to before it even knew he was there. It took the felling of another walker before the walkers adjusted their strategy a second time to now only fire on Anakin. This gave the other Jedi the opportunity to do as Anakin had done, and strike the legs of the walkers.

The twins trained together a lot and enjoyed throwing things with the Force. They had made lightsaber boomerangs and were using them to chip away at the attacking machines. Through their combined efforts they were able to chip away at the legs enough to make the walkers almost immobile.

There were originally ten walkers and now there were none functioning properly. The Jedi's feeling of success was short-lived because behind the preliminary two legged walkers were many tanks and several four legged walkers. The yet distant tanks began firing. They were not entirely accurate, but they were close enough to make most of the Jedi scramble for cover. The large bolts didn't phase Anakin and he held his ground. He even called a few of the close bolts to his lightsaber and hit them back at the tanks. The tanks were strong and their own lasers did little damage to themselves.

Foister saw the ease in which Anakin performed these tasks and stood by him to help.

"Foister, go," Anakin said.

"I will help you."

"You're not ready." He batted another bolt back. "Not strong enough."

Foister was hurt to hear his friend speak that way and stood more determined. He tried to call lasers to him, but was unsuccessful. He was about to follow Anakin's advice, when the lightsaber in his hands started to move under the power of the Force. It was a feeling he was used to. By throwing himself into the Force, it controlled his movements, automatically blocking the oncoming fire. The tank bolt came in hard. Foister's blade was there in time, but it exploded under the impact. The bolt tore through Foister's chest and hurled his now lifeless corpse several meters back.

"No!" In that instant Anakin emotionally detached himself from the situation. Normally he would have felt rage and anger. Emotions that would have him throw caution to the wind and charge in recklessly. He now saw his friend's death as a tragic event. A wrong that needed to be rectified. Justice was needed, not revenge. He charged, but with all caution. Bolts came in from either side as he drew near the guilty tank. Anakin leaped high in the air, letting the bolts flash by underneath him. He soared forward over twenty meters and landed on the tank. He felt the Forceless bubble close in around him; he pushed back. Always before when a Jedi had entered a Forceless bubble, there had been feelings of despair, fear and apprehension. Anakin knew that the being projecting the bubble was a simple worm like creature, not even sentient. The situation boiled down to who was stronger. The ysalamiri shriveled up and died on the spot.

Anakin swung down from his position on the tank and took out the cannon. The hatch popped open and an Imperial officer with a gun stuck his head out. It wasn't his gun for long. It exploded in the officers hand as a lightsaber cut through it. The officer screamed as he fell back down the hatch. Anakin reached out with the Force and triggered the gun of the tank. He flipped off the tank as he felt it try to fire out of its broken cannon. It backfired and exploded internally.

Anakin went around the swarm of tanks striking at them with an uncaged fury. The tanks weren't nimble enough to track this quick attacker and were smart enough (unlike Imperial TIE fighter pilots) to know that if they missed Anakin, they would hit themselves. Anakin struck out at the treads of one tank. With only one good set of treads the tank was only able to move in circles.

The twins watched both the success of Anakin and the failure of Foister. They knew their limitations and decided to work on the TIE bombers that were attacking the temples. Their boomerangs proved very effective against the flying enemies. The battle was going well until the bombers decided to target the students instead of the temple.

Standing on top of the temple, Garek, Celistin, and Jenstim stood out like sunbathers on Hoth. The bombers soon found their targets, and Celistin suffered the same fate as Foister. Garek fell to his knees next to his love. He rose from her side a few seconds later with an evil sting in his eyes. He threw his lightsaber at the offending TIE and sliced a solar panel clean off. He reveled in his anger as he watched the TIE spin out of control and crash into the ground. He was still looking at the crash when Jenstim called out his name.

Jenstim had detached himself emotionally like Anakin had said. As proud as he was, he wasn't unreasonable. Unlike Garek he could sense the new danger and had jumped off of the temple, screaming Garek's name. Garek was to wrapped up in his revenge to feel the incoming bolt through the Force. The top of the temple exploded as the four legged walker's blast shattered the structure. The blast knocked Garek unconscious and he fell with the rest of the ruble into the collapsing temple. Jenstim was floating down off the temple, watching the whole episode. He reached out to find Garek among the rubble and lift him out. He couldn't find Garek's life signal amongst the stone and knew that that meant he was already dead.

Anakin was still dealing with the tanks when he felt Celistin and Garek die. He looked up from his fight and saw that the four legged walkers had moved along the outside of the path and had approached the temples unscathed. Anakin watched in horror as the huge mechanical beasts walked freely amongst the ancient structures, tearing them down as if they were made of pebbles.

Anakin fought hard against the anger rising inside him. He threw it off with a scream. Filled with new love for the ancient temples and the Jedi tradition they had represented, he picked up one of the huge tanks and hurled it two hundred meters through the air and into a walker. The two exploded in a terrific fireball.

Anakin ran toward the temples, ignoring the remaining tanks. They fired at his feet but Anakin made sure they all came up short. When he reached the temples he found nothing but rubble. Angelic was injured but still fighting. It looked like she had been hit in the leg by falling stone. Jenstim and Angelina still fought hard. Angelina had taken out the last of the bombers and was starting to help Jenstim with the walkers. They were smart enough to avoid the bolts from the walkers, but were finding that thrown rocks had little effect on the large monsters. Anakin called attention to himself, knowing that his lightsaber was strong enough to repel the massive fire power. Anakin swung a bolt back at the head of one of the walkers, blowing it to pieces. The impact of the bolt sent Anakin sprawling but unhurt.

Anakin tried to draw more fire as Jenstim and Angelina ran at the walker's legs. The two Jedi's lightsabers were not as strong as Anakin's, but they were soon able to do enough damage to a leg to bring down the walker.

Anakin threw his lightsaber at another walker, taking out of the cockpit. A walker saw his opportunity to take out the obvious leader and fired at the unarmed Jedi. A Jedi is never unarmed. The Force was infinitely stronger than Anakin's lightsaber. Anakin simply caught the bolt and threw it back.

The remaining tanks were now closing in behind the Jedi and they found themselves trapped. With walkers in front and tanks behind, they had no safe place to turn their backs. Anakin called his lightsaber back and called to the other students. He couldn't deflect fire from both front and back at the same time and still be effective. The Jedi ran away from the destroyed Academy in the direction that Streen and Tionne had led the younger students.

Anakin told the twins and Jenstim to meet up with the other students and keep them a safe distance away. Anakin explained that he had to go back to make sure of a few things. They had seen his performance and realized that he knew what he was doing. They parted and wished each other luck.

Anakin had to make sure that his E-wing was safe. His E-wing. He was so used to calling it his that he forgot he was actually borrowing it from his uncle. He couldn't help but smile when he thought of how mad Uncle Luke would be. He didn't even let Jacen or Jaina fly it. Anakin stopped short. Where were his brother and sister? And Lowbacca? They wouldn't have gone with the younger students, would they? Their presence at the fight could have made a drastic difference. Anakin shrugged his shoulders and continued running back toward the ruins.

He walked carefully amongst the rubble, keeping out of sight from the tanks and walkers that seemed to be everywhere. He had landed the E-wing in the same secluded landing site that Lando had landed in about two weeks ago. He found it undamaged and breathed a sigh of relief. He got inside and powered up. He hesitated before lifting off, knowing that if he flew to the other students, he would give away their position. He remembered a trick that his uncle had talked about once. Something about hiding your energy in the Force like hiding a cup of water in the ocean. Anakin had never tried it, or even seen it. But he had confidence in his abilities.

He lifted off and flew away from the grisly scene without one walker or tank taking notice. He flew the craft in the general direction where he had left the others. He reached out for Streen and found him two kilometers to the north. Anakin set down the E-wing in a small clearing, unhiding it as he did so.

Streen and Tionne broke into the clearing leading a group of students. Anakin popped out of the E-wing and met them. At the same time, the twins and Jenstim came into the clearing from the opposite side.

"What is happening at the Academy?" Streen asked the foursome.

"The Imperials attacked," Jenstim said. "They killed Garek, Celistin, and Foister and have destroyed all of the temples."

"I suggest that we all stay here," Anakin said. "I believe that they aren't here to totally destroy the planet, just the Academy."

"I agree," Streen said, "but we should try to hide our presence."

Together the group of students and teachers concentrated on hiding their position and their life signs.

***

Snotzenexer read the battle reports. It had not started out well, but it had ended nicely. "Life signs?"

"It's hard to tell with all of the jungle life out there, sir, but if you assume that if there are any left, they will stay in a group, then I read no large groups of life forms."

Good enough, thought Snotzenexer. He wasn't ordered to exterminate the Jedi, just to destroy the Academy. All of the temples were reduced to rubble and the troops reported three confirmed kills and four missing Jedi. "Call the troops back. We're finished."

***

The Jedi watched from the clearing as the shuttles came down to pick up the officers. Walkers and tanks could only make the trip down. When they were gone and the ships in space blasted into hyperspace, they all tried to relax.

"Where are my brother and sister?" Anakin asked Streen as soon as he had the chance.

Streen dreaded telling Anakin, knowing what his reaction would be. He had heard Jenstim's report, though, and figured if anyone was going to go to Hastrin, it should be Anakin.

Early the next morning, an E-wing shot out of Yavin IV's atmosphere and entered hyperspace en-route to Hastrin.

****

Chapter 24 "Escape"

Han watched as Luke began to stir. It had been an anxious few days. Luke had been in some kind of coma since the ordeal at the Arena. Han had spent the time since banging on the door to his cell and demanding medical attention for his friend. He harassed the guards who brought their meals. He called for the doctor who he knew was stationed here. Han had been ignored. Han had hope that his friend was still OK. The conversation he had had with Luke right before he fell into the coma implied that he had recovered some kind of Force skill. Luke had put himself in comas before, but never for this long. Han had examined the wound on Luke's head and realized the reason for the prolonged coma. Han continued to yell at the guards, though. He yelled for two reasons: he didn't want the Imperials to think that Luke was OK, and he wasn't one hundred percent sure that Luke was OK. If Han had kept his silence the Imperials were likely to think that something was up, that Luke wasn't as badly injured as they had thought.

Han watched as Luke slowly rose to a sitting position. He moved slowly, careful not to black out. He tried to stand but Han rushed to his side. "It's OK, don't get up."

Luke looked up at him. "I'm fine Han." Luke pushed Han's helping hand away and got to his feet smoothly. He stretched his limbs and tested the wound on the side of his head.

Han saw color return to his friend's face, and for the first time Han noticed that Luke's hair was back to its original color, the gray seemingly gone. "What happened?"

"I have the Force again. I'd always had it, just I didn't know it. You could say the rancor knocked some sense into me."

"It looked like he almost knocked everything out of you," Han tried to sound stern but was inwardly glad, and a smile slowly crept to his lips. "Oh, never talk to me like that again."

"Like what?" Luke looked confused.

"In my head. That's reserved for Lea." Luke looked a little confused. Han started to feel embarrassed, sorry that he had brought it up. "You know, that's how we talk when we, you know, . . ." Luke understood.

Luke changed topics quickly. "So you want to get out of here?" he motioned around at the cell.

Han replaced his former expression with a smile. "Thought you'd never ask. Do you have a plan?"

"Do we need one? I thought we'd just walk out."

"Sounds good to me."

The two of them walked up to the door. Luke paused slightly and the door opened. They stepped out of the door, and Han noticed that the two guards lay unconscious at their posts.

"You remember the way to the transport?" Luke asked.

"Yes I do, but I think that you should lead the way."

Luke made his way down the hall with Han in toe. They were unnoticed and unmolested. Han was surprised that there weren't any alarms. Then again, they didn't break the door down, and the guards probably didn't have any time to signal the alarm before Luke had knocked them out.

The door to the outside slid open as they approached it. Outside two guards turned around, only to have Luke knock them out with a wave of his hand.

"We're heading to town right?" Han asked.

Luke nodded. "I figure it's the safest place to hide."

"We better take these guys' uniforms then."

"I can hide our identity."

"What if we get separated or hit another ysalamiri field?"

"You're right Luke admitted." They stripped the two guards and took off their own, now smelly, imperial uniforms. The uniforms they had been wearing might have been good camouflage, but they had no rank and they smelled awful.

Han jumped into the driver's seat, and Luke took his spot in the front. Han knew the way to town and accelerated the little transport quickly. The terrain was rough, but a path had been made off the side of the mountain.

They had just left the rocky mountain side when Han felt a little tug on the transport. Luke felt it in the Force. "Someone is trying to keep us here."

Han pressed the throttle to the floor. "Jacen, wanna bet?" Luke helped Han through the Force but the craft still slowed. Suddenly the grasp let go and Han couldn't let up on the throttle in time. The transport rocketed forward, and it was all Han could do to keep the craft from crashing into a tree as they sped into the forest.

After Han regained control he turned to Luke. "What happened?"

"We hit a Forceless bubble. They probably surrounded their base with ysalamiri. We're through the field now."

They continued on in silence for a while. As they approached the city Han spoke up. "You better hide us a little bit. We were just at a trial, and about fifty thousand people saw us in the Arena, we might be recognized. Is there anything that you can do that's permanent."

Han felt his face start to tingle. He took one hand of the wheel to feel his new growing beard. He could feel the hairs grow longer as Luke stimulated the growth of each hair. Han looked in the rear view mirror and admired his knew face. "Not bad, I might just keep it." Luke assumed the identity that he always used when he traveled abroad and didn't wish to be recognized.

The transport sped through town and no one paid them a second look. Han looked for a place to park the vehicle. He saw a few smaller speeders in a garage. As Han turned to park the transport he raised a concern that had been on his mind. "We don't have any money."

"I don't think we're going to need it. This just seems to be a planet side retreat. They must have a space station somewhere, and this is where they take their leave. The Empire isn't going to try to make money off itself." Han couldn't argue with the logic. He agreed with Luke fully when he wasn't charged for parking their ride.

They walked out into the street and looked at the passing groups of people. Clones were freaky. Groups of four or five identical people walked by with regularity. In fact Han had to look around for a while to find a diversified group like their own. They walked down the street and entered the first bar they came to. Luke took a seat at an empty booth and Han went over to talk to the bar tender.

"Hey, you're new here. I don't remember seeing any of your brothers around."

Han remembered what Luke had said. "Yea well my shift just got off today. You should see more of me pretty soon. Do you know of a good place to spend the night."

"You mean besides your assigned quarters?"

Stupid! Of course the Empire would have housing blocks set up. "Well, you know, they get so stuffy. I want a place where I can relax."

"Ah, you're looking for a little night time entertainment. There are a few women working in a couple of the other bars in town. They're the only thing that costs anything down here, unless you're into betting."

"Good looking of course?" Han feigned interest.

"The Empire only clones only the best, buddy."

Han tried to hide his disgust. He had no intention of looking up a prostitute (Leia would throw him out an airlock), but the idea of sleeping with a manufactured test tube female gave him the chills. Han ordered two drinks, realizing as he walked back, that Luke probably wouldn't drink his.

Han sat down across from Luke. "So where are we staying tonight?"

"What?" Han asked. "You weren't listening in on our conversation?"

"I was trying to pick up a little info from our bar mates. You know, ease dropping."

"Find anything?"

"Not much other than what we had already guessed. There seems to some kind station - the Dark Ring is what they're calling it. I'm getting a bad feeling that it might a huge bat-"

Luke was cut off as someone slammed a hand down on their table. Both Han and Luke jumped at the sound. They looked up at a large man with a few spectators behind him. The man was looking right at Luke. Han was worried that their cover might be blown. He looked over at Luke and realized that he couldn't even recognize the Jedi Master. The big man lifted his hand revealing a pile of credits. "One hundred credits says that I can beat you in a game of gungrat arm wrestling."

Han nearly laughed out loud. Luke was anything but physically intimidating, and the false identity he was assuming did nothing to compliment that form. Luke looked at Han and Han realized that he didn't want this distraction. Han mouthed that they needed the money. Luke shrugged and turned back to the man. "Quadruple your bet and you're on."

A few spectators gasped at Luke's boldness. Even the big man was slightly taken aback. Han almost thought he was going to call the bet off. Who knows what kind of clone Luke could be? "Let's see your money first."

"You don't need to see my money," Luke said with a wave of his fingers.

"Of course I don't need to see your money."

"Bert are you sure?" one of the men behind him asked.

"I know what I'm doing, Shrenk. Come on big spender," he said to Luke. Luke complied by standing and following Bert over to the wrestling table.

Han got up as well and fell in line with the rest of the crowd. He moved over to Shrenk. "Has he lost before?"

Shrenk shook his head. "He claims that he can beat any clone that comes around. He challenges each new type he sees. You're probably next."

"What if he looses?"

"He won't. One of his brothers did once, in another bar across town."

"Has Bert challenged the victor yet, or at least one of his brothers?"

"She wasn't a clone."

Han looked incredulous. He gazed at Bert's incredible bulk as he sat down at the wrestling table. "A woman beat one of his brothers?"

Shrenk nodded but didn't say anything else as the fight was about to begin. The uniforms that Han and Luke had stolen consisted of a mid sleeve coat over a short sleeve T-shirt. Luke took off his coat and rolled up his right sleeve. Han noticed that Luke's arm was quite a bit bigger than normal. It still didn't compare to Bert's, but Han knew that didn't matter.

Luke took his seat across from Bert and placed his elbow on the small pad made available to him. Bert gripped his hand in a vice, trying to break Luke's hand and end the fight before it started. Luke didn't flinch, but clenched his hand tight and flexed his arm. Han watched in disbelief as Luke's arm swelled to an incredible size. Muscles appeared from nowhere, swelling and rippling over each other. Bert's jaw dropped and his grip loosened. Luke responded by tightening his grip, almost crushing Bert's hand.

The judge for the match gave the starting word, and Bert launched his attack. He leaned with all of his incredible strength against Luke's arm. Luke's arm bent back slightly, but as strong as Bert was, he was no match for the life force of the entire universe. Luke sent Bert's arm crashing down on the table so hard that the thick wood cracked, and the entire table snapped in half. Bert was thrown from his chair and landed in the pile of wood that used to be the table.

Luke stood up and stretched is arm. The muscles faded one by one back into his arm. He waited for Bert to regain his consciousness and collected his four hundred credits.

Han and Luke made an immediate exit and walked quickly down the street. "Congratulations," Han said in jest. "I was worried there for a moment." Luke walked in silence, he didn't enjoy flaunting his powers like that, but Han was right and they did need the money. "I think Jaina is in town," Han said growing quickly serious.

"What makes you say that?"

"I was talking with one of Bert's henchmen. He told me that Bert had never lost before, but one of his clones had. He had lost to a woman. There aren't very many women I know that are big enough to accomplish that feat with out a little help. And I know Jacen would not have come here alone."

This revelation sent Luke into deep thought. He had gotten to know the twins very well at the Academy and began to think that there was a very good chance that Lowbacca was here too. His thoughts returned to Jacen. He would have to confront him. Because of that incident as they were leaving the mountain, Luke knew that Jacen knew that they were in the city and he would either be coming for them or he would wait for Luke to come to him. Luke decided that he had to take the initiative and go to Jacen. Luke was overcome with a feeling of de-ja-vu. He had had to confront the last Lord of the Sith, his father, twenty-seven years ago. He had gone into that confrontation with the knowledge that there was still good in Darth Vader and intentions of turning him back to the Light side. He had managed to turn his father, but it had killed him. Luke hoped for better results with Jacen. If it was only mind control that was influencing Jacen's actions then it would be easier to turn him back than if it had been his conscious decision. Somewhere inside Darth Solon was Jacen Solo trying to get out.

"We have to find her, Luke," Han said.

"I have to confront Jacen."

"We can find Jaina first, then we can go back to the base and get Jacen. Together the two of you could turn him back."

"Are you forgetting that it is very likely that Jaina has been brainwashed as well. Besides we don't know where to start looking. It's best if we split up. I'll go back to the base and find Jacen. You stay here and look for Jaina, but remember she won't know you, so be careful."

Han wanted to argue, but realized that Luke was right. "Just remember that Jacen's my son, not some evil Dark Lord that the Empire has made him look like."

Luke nodded and they separated. Luke headed back to the transport, and Han moseyed off in a random direction searching for his daughter.

***

Darth Solon walked alone down the dimly lit corridor. His boots echoed resoundingly in the hallway, and his black cape flowed gracefully behind him portraying all the confidence he felt and more. He walked onto the main bridge of the third quadrant of the Dark Ring and smiled to himself as he saw everyone in the room straighten their posture and try to look busy.

Commander Skeener walked quickly up to Solon and saluted. Inwardly he hated having to salute, respect, and, unfortunately, fear this kid. In his estimation Solon could not be more than twenty-five years old. Skeener didn't let his contempt for Solon show too much, because he knew that Solon was the hand of Tallon and therefore indirectly the hand of Thrawn.

"The preparations for battle are progressing smoothly. All construction is finished on the weapon systems, and all systems are fully charged. We are currently in the middle of staffing the fourth quarter. All personnel training should be finished by tomorrow. The Dark Ring should be fully operational in less than twenty-four hours." Skeener paused. "If I may ask, Lord Solon, why are we at all worried about the New Republic's attack? Surely this battle station could demolish the five biggest fleets in the galaxy at once. What have we to fear?"

Darth Solon paused in consideration. 'You don't know, do you?' thought Skeener. 'Tallon has only told you what he wants. Vader always knew what was going on.'

Skeener felt a little tingle in his throat. "You are wise not to speak your thoughts. You would be wiser not to think them at all." Solon released his grip. "We have reason to believe that the New Republic has acquired the plans to the Dark Ring. They have taken one of our old weapon stations that might have contained the plans, as well as other confidential weapon information."

"Good," Skeener said with just a little crack in his voice, "that will give them a false sense of hope."

"The same false sense of hope that they had at Yavin IV and Endor, Commander?"

"Lord Solon, are you predicting a defeat?"

"I believe that we will crush the New Republic, if we are ready. If we hold them in contempt they will crush us." Solon held his hand and made a fist.

Skeener could feel his throat close again and immediately picked up on Solon's hidden meaning. "I don't hold you in contempt, Lord Solon."

Solon released his grip. "Let's hope not, for your sake, Commander." Solon turned sharply around and left the room quickly.

Darth Solon made his way back to the landing bay and his shuttle. He disliked these motivational trips that Tallon sent him on, but he realized that the officers in this battle station had to remain sharp. Without any adversaries to fight against, Solon was glad to provide them with a sharp poke in the rear to keep them motivated. The turbo lift whisked him through the gigantic structure at speeds he did not care to calculate. His brother could probably calculate them. He had always been good at ma-. What brother? Solon was an only child, and his parents had been killed by the New Republic. Solon used his anger to flush away the false conception of a brother. He should examine his memory sometime soon, he couldn't afford to have mental slips like that.

Darth Solon's shuttle was waiting for him. His pilot saw him enter the hanger and rushed to take his spot in the cockpit. Without a word from either of them, Solon sat in the back, and the pilot lifted the shuttle out of the hanger and flew to the jump point for Hastrin.

The jump was short and uneventful. Solon spent the time formulating his report. He was not used to giving reports. He had only been doing this for a few wee-. He had been doing this for a couple years. Another false memory had crept into his mind. He spent the rest of the trip in meditation.

Solon was refreshed with a renewed confidence when the shuttle jumped out of hyperspace outside of Hastrin. After the pilot gave the orbiting fleet the proper clearance codes, he steered the ship toward the planet. And after a short atmospheric trip, the shuttle touched down gently on the small mountain side landing pad. Solon made his way to the turbo lift and descended into the lower levels.

Darth Solon passed through the ysalamiri field located halfway down the shaft. Solon hated the worm-like creatures, but acknowledged their importance in capturing Skywalker. The Forceless bubble continued all the way to the bottom, and it took Solon a few seconds to walk out of it after he left the turbo lift.

Solon made his way to Tallon's office. He not only had information to give, but he wished to learn about the current events on Hastrin. He walked quickly through the clean halls of the mountain fortress. Tallon's office was not far from the Turbo lift, and Solon didn't waste any time.

Tallon looked up from his computer screen as Darth Solon walked. "Good evening, Lord Solon. How fares our indestructible monstrosity in space?"

"It is approaching one hundred percent battle readiness. It should be ready by tomorrow. How is our fleet doing?"

"The New Republic is scrambling to keep up. General Oskiman is doing a fabulous job of keeping them guessing as to our next move. The Academy has also been hit successfully. I hope you weren't having any second thoughts, because there is nothing to run back to."

"Any survivors?"

"The Academy seemed almost deserted when the attack force arrived. We took several casualties, but we were able to reduce all of the temples to rubble. The little resistance that we met was crushed. There is a guess of about six Jedi lost."

Solon felt no remorse. "What of Skywalker and Solo? How did they fare against the rancor?"

Tallon's face fell a little. "Better than expected, unfortunately. Skywalker took a vicious and near fatal blow to the head and is in a coma right now, but Solo was able to make friends with the horrible beast, and the fight was called off until a later date."

Solon disbelieved in Solo's ability to calm the rancor and immediately smelled foul play. He, unlike Tallon, was aware of the Force's use in taming animals. Skywalker had taken a blow to the head. The surgery! Solon closed his eyes and reached out to the prison cell. He opened his eyes with a snap. "Skywalker has woken up."

"From his coma?" Tallon asked, though he expected more from Solon's tone.

"Yes, and from his Force slumber. He has regained his ability to wield the Force."

"Impossible," Tallon said. He didn't so much doubt Solon as much as he wanted an explanation.

"The blow to his head could have undone the surgery."

"Not likely," Tallon argued. "Dr. Kendel is an exceptional physician. He would have secured his work better than that."

"Are you trying to compare the work of the Force with the work of a scalpel?" Solon had always been a little skeptic as to the security of the surgery, now his fears had come to reality. "We must get to them before they escape."

Tallon and Darth Solon moved quickly out of Tallon's office. As they ran, Tallon remembered what Thrawn had said at the Arena. Thrawn had been right again. This shouldn't have surprised Tallon, but it did.

"They are on the move," Solon said.

Tallon activated his communicator and tried to contact the posted guards. He got no response. He cursed his slow reaction. "Where are they headed?"

"They are going outside."

Of course, they were going in the only direction they knew of. Tallon was able to reach the two guards outside.

"Yes, sir."

"Be ready for Skywalker and Solo."

"Have they esca-" the guards voice was cut short.

"They're moving quickly," Tallon said to Solon.

They got to the cell to find the door open and the two guards on the floor. Solon stooped to check the life signs of each. Tallon was a little shocked at Darth Solon's uncharacteristic concern for the guards. There was probably still too much of Jacen Solo in him. Solon got up and proclaimed that they were simply asleep.

They hurried down the corridor leading to the outdoors. The door was open and the transport was gone. Tallon squinted against the sun and saw it streaking down the side of the mountain. Solon reached his hand out and tried to bring the craft back. He endured a brief struggle with Skywalker before the transport plunged into the darkness of the ysalamiri field.

"I've lost them," Solon admitted. "Skywalker will come back to me."

"They're headed into the city. I'll send a team of storm troopers in."

"That won't be necessary," the voice came from behind them, and both Solon and Tallon spun around to see Thrawn staring at the disappearing transport. "It appears the surgery was indeed thwarted, Captain. I agree with Lord Solon that Skywalker will come back. I'm sure if you give it some thought you will come to the same conclusion, but perhaps for different reasons."

Jacen was Skywalker's nephew, and Skywalker thinks that Jacen is the next the Dark Lord of the Sith. Of course he'll come back. Tallon wondered about the prudence of bringing that fact up right in front of Jacen. "What about Solo?"

"I believe you have an operative in the city," Thrawn said.

Of course. Jaina would be perfect for the job. The irony was almost sickening. Han's son would kill Skywalker, while his daughter would kill him. This escape wasn't so bad after all.


	4. Part 4

****

Chapter 25 "Skirmishes"

Captain Sanson looked down on the planet from her position of five thousand kilometers above the colorful sphere. She could see the large, dark spots on the globe's surface that she knew to be the huge mines for which the planet was famous. Her last attack had been in conjunction with Commander Qwi'tek, as this one was. They had attacked Gensiffery and Frection. They had not unleashed a shot on the valuable resource planet of Frection, but had decimated the tropical planet of Gensiffery. She regretted that they had not been as successful in their last campaign as they had hoped and planned to remedy that this time.

Sanson pulled her gaze away from the planet and returned it to the space battle around her. She wasn't concerned about it either. The planet and small fleet that she and Qwi'tek had trapped here, wouldn't be going anywhere, except maybe hell. She and Qwi'tek were using the same type of tactics that they had used in their previous battle, dropping in from hyperspace on directly opposite sides of the patrolling fleet. The New Republic fleet was forced to divide its ships, half of them facing one fleet and the other half oriented one hundred eighty degrees opposite, facing the other one.

Sanson had ordered the fleet under her command to fire on the ships facing Qwi'tek's fleet, and she knew Qwi'tek's fleet was firing on the ones facing her. Although the fleet trapped in the middle was larger than the sum of the fleets attacking, they were badly out positioned and greatly out strategized. With Sanson's vast knowledge of her enemy's ships, she had her turbo lasers fire at the idle sublight engines.

When ships are in an orbital pattern they use only their minor motivators, allowing the normal component of the orbital acceleration brought on by the planet's gravitational pull to propel them forward. In battle the main motivators are sometimes activated, but Sanson was willing to bet that in the fleet's awkward and, mostly, stationary position, they had not changed from their orbital engines. It did not matter because whatever the case, their sublight engines were definitely not in use, and they were the most direct route to the ships' main reactors.

Sanson watched as the ships her fleet was firing on started to buckle and explode. A few of the ships began to realize what was happening and activated their sublight engines. With the sublight engines engaged, the energy feed back safeties were activated, but even at the smallest power setting, the sublight engines propelled the ships toward Qwi'tek's fleet and away from the protection the pack had to offer.

Qwi'tek didn't have the knowledge that Sanson had of the New Republic design (Sanson had not told him, wishing all of the glory for herself - some things never change) and wasn't causing quite as much damage as his female counter part. His success changed when the ships that Sanson was firing at, activated their sublight engines, propelling themselves one by one into the middle of Qwi'tek's fleet. He hit the ships from three sides, and in many cases allowed the soon powerless ships to drift harmlessly through his fleet.

The New Republic ships had very little choice. They could stay where they where and blow up from a reactor overload, or shoot themselves suicidally right into the middle of the enemy fleet. The ones that stayed, exploded, and the ones that attacked Qwi'tek head on, entered the gauntlet running and emerged from the other end shieldless and powerless. Qwi'tek made sure that the ships leaving his fleet were redirected enough that their path dropped them into a low orbit around the planet. Like a speeder bike tied to a tree, the gravity pulled them into a downward spiraling orbit. Unlike the speeder, the doomed ships weren't likely to make even one revolution before crashing into the planet.

The second half of the New Republic fleet noticed the first half's poor predicament, but were reluctant to turn their backs to Sanson's unerring turbo lasers to help. The commanders of New Republic had strict orders on how to respond to an Imperial attack. First you should call for assistance from the three closest fleets, and at their discretion, they will send you reinforcements. Second you never give up, but stay and wait for reinforcements. This was on the belief that the men and recourses lost in a naval defeat, didn't come close to the amount of loses from a planetary bombardment. Third was, of course, to win. Everyone in the New Republic recognized this moral builder for what it was. The New Republic was taking some heavy loses all over the border region, and any little word of encouragement was sorely needed.

This battle was looking to turnout a lot like every other battle in the past week. With the New Republic ships that had been facing Qwi'tek now tumbling into the planet's atmosphere, Qwi'tek, despite the fact that he didn't know what to aim at, had the rear ends of the remaining New Republic ships laid out before him, and they didn't last long.

The New Republic realized that they were going to lose, but tried to find a way to prolong the fight. The remaining ships faced Sanson and they turned on their sublight engines, and as a whole, sped toward the Imperial fleet. In a normal battle the charged fleet would have to hold its ground or let the charging escape. This wasn't a normal battle. Sanson knew all the tricks and was pretty sure as to what the New Republic's orders were. She angled her fleet downward and shot past and underneath. The New Republic found that it was now charging into empty space. They could launch themselves into hyperspace if they wished, but they had no choice but to turn around and face the foe.

Qwi'tek was shocked that Sanson had given up her position so easily, not seeing that the New Republic charge had merely been a bluff. Sanson had called the bluff and found that the New Republic had been holding a flush - right down the refresher. Qwi'tek had first not seen the bluff for what it was and had ordered his ships to fire on the activated sublight engines in an effort to disable them and keep them from escaping. As the New Republic ships deactivated their sublight engines to turn around, Qwi'tek realized the strategy that had allowed Sanson to disable her targets so much more quickly. The selfish no good . . . He would have to remember to congratulate her on her cunning battle prowess. He knew when he had been beaten, although it was a little easier to take in the midst of a victory.

Many of the New Republic ships weren't able to complete their turn because of Qwi'tek's recent discovery. They drifted at a perpendicular vector to the Imperial fleet, and Qwi'tek understood better the true meaning of the popular insult that his fighter pilots often threw at each other. If you couldn't hit the broad side of a Calamarian Cruiser then you were indeed a horrible shot.

The few ships that were able to complete the turn found that Sanson had wasted no time turning her ships around and both fleets bore down on New Republic ships. Ten short minutes later the battle was over.

Sanson contacted Qwi'tek and congratulated him on a job well done. She decided to keep her wise cracks on how she thought he would never take out a ship until later. Now it was time to move on to phase two. This was the first battle that neither the Captain nor Commander had used fighters. The reason for Qwi'tek had been simple. He had no more pilots. His earlier entanglement with the 185th had left him with three hangers full of fighters and bombers, but no one to fly them. Sanson wasn't in the same position but decided to not gloat over her plethora of fighters, and fought the battle fighterless.

Phase two involved the fighters. Qwi'tek's TIE's were useless without pilots and they decided to put them to good use. Instead of filling the cockpit of the fighter with the bulk of a pilot, the Imperial flight technicians stowed several massive explosives in the spherical cavity, also loading the torpedo tubes to their capacity. Flown by computer the TIE's streaked toward the unprotected planet. The TIE's were much more accurate than the turbo laser fire that rained down around them, because unlike the light orientated lasers, the TIE's underwent no refraction as they passed through the thick ozone layer of the planet. The TIE's were also controlled manually until right before contact.

Needless to say, the explosions that the beefed up TIE's produced were over 20-fold those of the lasers. Out of curiosity Sanson had loaded a few advanced TIE's with explosives and sent them on identical kamikaze runs. She had all of the safeties removed from the fighter and right before impact, she had the advanced TIE's enter hyperspace. Kinetic energy equals one half mass times velocity squared. Force equals mass times acceleration. Momentum equals mass times velocity. These equations flashed through her mind as she watched the TIE undergo near infinite acceleration, attaining a velocity many time that of the speed of light before colliding into the planet. She got to experience the equation e = mc^2 as well, as the fighter atomized into a two million megaton yield explosion, leveling over one thousand square kilometers of the capitol city. Neat.

The other TIE's were aimed at the mining complexes. The unprocessed ore was turning out to be quite flammable and the pockets of natural gas produced fire works that were much more enjoyable for the Imperials at five thousand kilometers than they were for the miners at about fifty meters.

It was with great regret that Captain Sanson received the hypercom message from Hastrin. Her pleasure for destruction did not eclipse her pleasure for remaining in command however, so she followed the orders to pull back. The last of the TIE bombs were sent down, and the fleet left the hapless planet below. Two minutes after the Imperial fleet jumped out, the overdue reinforcements jumped in.

***

General Oskiman was finally understanding something that had puzzled him for the past week. In Sanson and Qwi'tek's original report on their battles over Gensiffery and Frection, Oskiman had been troubled over a line from Qwi'tek's report. "We were bombarded by the expertly executed attack of three unknown fighters, forcing our early disembarkment." Oskiman did not question his commander directly, knowing that he took defeat very hard, but he was perplexed as how only three fighters could swing the entire flow of battle. He now knew.

***

Jon squealed as an energy bolt seared just under his left wing, but relaxed as he executed a tight corner around a crowded hanger bay. The trailing Imperial wasn't half as skilled, and he crashed into an exiting TIE. Jon notched his counter up another digit.

The remaining two fighters of the trio picked up the chase where their comrade had failed. Jon saw his two tails and adjusted his side cannons to fire straight ahead, instead of to a point. He took a sharp diving turn around the far side of a Star Destroyer. There was another Destroyer flying in formation, and it was a tight fit between the two large ships. The TIE's had to fly tight to follow. Jon used the zero turning radius of his fighter to flip around. Now he was coasting backwards and facing his enemy. The distance between the closely packed TIE's was about equal to his wing span, and he loosed a few bolts into the unsuspecting fighters. Jon punched his accelerator, pressing him back into his seat. The W-wing groaned under the drastic change in momentum, but it was all worth it a second later when he shot through the dying explosion of his enemies.

Vince and Bep were again fighting together and basically picking up tails so the other one could take them out. Vince and Bep preferred to attack the Star Destroyers directly instead of messing around with the TIE's, but on this encounter they had been on patrol when the Imperials had jumped in, so by the time they had boarded and left their carrier, the battle was already engaged, and the capitol ships were attacking each other. Jon was the only one that dared play around the Destroyers while the capitol ships exchanged fire. Not even the most skilled fighter could avoid a beam weapon that traveled at the speed of light. The W-wing had the strongest shields of any fighter, and although they could repel other fighters' fire, they were quite useless against a heavy turbo laser.

The New Republic was out gunned again, but the fighters were proving to be no trouble at all. Once the TIE's were diminished enough to be almost totally disregarded, the leaders of each squadron were assigned an Imperial capitol ship to harass. With this new strategy of five E-wings against a Victory class Star Destroyer, the New Republic was able to even the odds somewhat. It wasn't until Jon took out an Imperial Star Destroyer by destroying the bridge, that the tide actually turned to the New Republic's favor.

Jon had used a trick that he had invented on the spot. Bep had equipped each W-wing with a small tractor beam designed for towing crippled fighters back to the carrier. Jon was able to lock it on to one of his tails with out the Imperial noticing. The TIE must have thought he was an incredible pilot, staying on Jon's tail like he was. Jon's rear shields were depleting quickly, and the tractor beam was draining a lot of power. He sped toward the bridge of the doomed Imperial Star Destroyer at top speed. Normally the TIE would have had no chance to keep up, but this oddity failed to register in the over zealous TIE pilot's brain.

Jon unleashed a salvo of missiles at the Destroyer weakening its shields and allowing his tractor beam to keep its hold through the disturbance of the deflector. The trail realized his fate too late. Jon pulled an impossible maneuver, jerked the flight stick back at the last second, yanking the nose of his nimble craft upward and out of danger. Jon released the tractor beam and watched as the helpless pilot tried desperately to pull the same maneuver as Jon. He soon realized exactly how much the tractor beam had been aiding him. The TIE paid a personal visit to the bridge crew of the huge ship and rendered the mechanical monster driverless.

Oskiman saw the skill in which the pilot had executed the move and thought as Qwi'tek had that there had to be a Jedi in the cockpit. Oskiman dreaded the fact that he might have to retreat his position, when the hypercom message came in. He gladly complied with the message and relayed it to the rest of the fleet.

Captain Tremon saw the Imperials leave and called the fighters back. Jon not wanting to return to his carrier with any torpedoes left unleashed the rest of them at the retreating ships before complying with the order.

***

Everywhere the Imperial ships broke off their attack, and the New Republic was happy to see them go. As if following the script of a story, the two collective fleets ended their minor conflicts and organized themselves together for one final battle.

****

Chapter 26 "Quiet Before the Storm"

Leia was yapping at Wedge's heels like a small dog as he walked briskly through the halls of the Imperial palace on Coruscant.

"What about Han? Aren't you going to send a second fleet? You can't just strand them on Hastrin!"

Wedge stopped as he approached the door at the end of the hallway. "Listen, Princess," he turned to look at her, "I told you that we can't afford to send a second fleet to Hastrin. We've barely scrounged up enough ships to make a decent fleet as it is. We definitely can't afford to sponsor another fleet to Hastrin to meet who knows what." Feeling that he had ended the conversation, he continued toward the door. It opened with a swoosh, and Leia could see the inside of a hanger. "If you really want to help see if you can find us some more ships," Wedge threw over his shoulder as the door closed behind him. Leia was left standing alone in the corridor. She was about to follow him when his words sunk in. More ships - she could do that.

***

Leia waited, as her holo message was being connected and then answered. The face of Teneniel Djo gazed inquisitively at Leia. "Yes, Leia?"

Leia reached out desperately for her diplomatic skills. "Good," she paused, searching for the right word, "morning," she finally guessed. Teneniel nodded in compliance. "Have you been able to restore the damage that hideous Imperial assassin did to your beautiful dining hall." Leia was sure to use adjectives that would set up Teneniel's emotions to her advantage.

"No we haven't quite finished all of the repairs yet, but surely that isn't the reason you called."

Leia realized it would be hard to work with someone as professional as the Queen of the Hapes cluster. She decided to get right to the point. "Queen Djo," she started remaining professional, "we are in a terrible war with the Imperials right now. A war that has even reached your capital through the acts of the assassin." Leia had to throw that line in, not yet giving up on her diplomatic suave. "We have grown strong over the past decade and felt that we were safe from outside invasion. But recently the Empire has proven our idea of safety to be a false one. They have struck many civilian targets, killing millions. They have used tact and strategy that has always been thought to be out of the Empire's reach to reduce our fleet drastically in both size and strength. I call you now not only as one friend to another, but as one government to another.

"We are presently preparing for a huge confrontation. The Empire has built another behemoth of a battle station, and it has placed the lives of many in jeopardy. We have received the plans to the super structure and are preparing for an all out attack. The future of the entire galaxy may be resting on the outcome of this battle. If we were to lose, the Empire would gain the upper hand in the power struggle, and would not hesitate to press that advantage. I won't insult your intelligence by spelling it out for you, but you can understand what it would be like if the Empire were the dominant force in the universe.

"We are asking for ships. We realize that you will be hesitant in joining a battle that will result in heavy casualties, but we ask you just the same. If you aren't willing to risk the lives of your people, than at least consider sending unmanned ships for us to use. This cry for help comes from us at our most desperate hour."

Teneniel paused considering the request. She made the obvious connection that Leia had been hesitant to point out. She did not want a universe dominated by the Empire. The Hapans mainly kept to themselves, but Teneniel wasn't naive enough to believe that the Empire would just leave them alone. They had fought the Empire before when her husband's safety had been in jeopardy, surely they could put forth some effort here when the safety of the whole galaxy hung in the balance.

"Yes, Leia. The Hapan government will be willing to support your venture. We will be happy to be part of the fleet that puts an end to the Empire."

They exchanged information about fleet size and made the final arrangements right there. "Don't you have to okay this decision with your government?" Leia asked.

Teneniel smiled broadly. "You forget Leia that I am the head of a matriarchal society. I am the government."

Leia thanked her one final time and disconnected. She had news for Wedge. The 75 ships that Teneniel had promised almost doubled the New Republic's present fleet. She also knew that the Hapan technology was more advanced than their own and their ships more destructive.

***

Wedge was speechless.

"We can send a fleet to Hastrin now, right?"

Leia had found Wedge in the hanger as he was helping to prep the ships and pilots for the upcoming battle. She had finally managed to tug him away from an X-wing squadron to tell him about the 75 Hapan ships she had gotten to add to their fleet. Wedge had been ecstatic at first, but now saw her, not so hidden, agenda. "Now more than ever, we have to focus everything on the Dark Ring," he said. Leia's face fell considerably so he continued. "Can't you see that now we have a formidable fleet and might have the scales tipped in our advantage. If we split the fleet we might just lose that advantage, and it could cost us a victory. However, now that we have a bigger fleet, we can be assured that there will be enough ships left over to make a Hastrin run."

Leia didn't want to argue anymore. She didn't want to point out that if they did destroy the Dark Ring and Han and Luke were still alive, their victory might trigger her husband and brother's execution. She didn't want to argue that since the Empire seemed to be pulling back from their attack, they probably had all of their ships protecting the Dark Ring, and all that would be needed for a successful Hastrin attack would be a few ships. She didn't want to argue because she was the chief of state and fighting with the admiral of the military wasn't in the job description.

Leia was about to leave the hanger, when she spotted the Millennium Falcon sitting in the corner of the hanger. She saw Lando and Chewie scrambling around the underside of the makeshift ship, checking and fixing numerous systems and gadgets. She was suddenly hit with an idea. She made her way over to her friends.

Lando looked up from his wielding job and saw Leia coming. He put down his equipment and wiped is hands on his mechanic's apron. "Good evening, Princess," Lando could see that Leia was coming over for more than just a friendly visit and continued, "what's the problem?"

"Wedge won't send anything to Hastrin to check on Han and Luke."

Lando had suspected that this was Leia's concern, but knew there was little he could do about it. He had reactivated himself into the New Republic military, but deferred his previous status as General, and merely took on the rank of a fighter pilot. If he wanted he could regain his former rank and challenge Wedge's decision, but that wasn't his place. He was doing this for two reasons. He knew that his mining operation would be in danger if the Imperials gained power. He had left everyone back at the asteroid to continue the work and to protect it. The second and more important reason was that he simply hated the Empire.

"You know that I can't go against Wedge's orders."

Leia frowned. "I thought you still had some significant military pull?"

"I gave up all of that when I retired; however," Lando was quick to continue, noticing Leia's crestfallen state, "we might be able to manage something."

"What do you mean?" Leia was curious.

"After the attack, which we expect to end abruptly, all of the ships are supposed to jump out to a preset rendezvous point. From there we are going to count our losses, refortify our ranks, and decide where to go from there. We could forgo that order, skip the rendezvous, and simply jump straight to Hastrin. I'm not really part of the military anymore, so it's not like they can court martial me. I'm in this fight as a mercenary."

Leia looked a little hopeful. "Are you sure that the Millennium Falcon alone will be enough?"

"It's been enough in the past; it will be again." This satisfied Leia. "You better go," Lando said. "Here comes Wedge. We wouldn't want him to think anything was up."

Leia scurried off towards the exit while Lando busied himself with prepping the Falcon. Lando feigned surprise when Wedge approached. They greeted each other formally and then got down to business.

"Is the new firing mechanism in place and functioning properly?" Wedge asked.

Lando nodded. "Chewie and I modified one of the torpedo tubes to fit the new specifications. She should fire just fine."

"You are remembering to be especially careful with the 'igniter,' right?"

Lando disliked the code name that the military had given the supernova weapon, but he went with the flow. "Yes, Wedge," Lando responded in a sarcastically exasperated voice as if he were twelve and speaking to his mother.

Wedge smiled. "You can never be to sure you know." He glanced down at the data pad he was holding. "On to bigger an better things. Did you and Chewie get the coordinates for your jump yet?"

"Yep. We're jumping in alone, separate from the rest of the fleet, right?"

"Separate from the rest of the fleet, yes, but not alone. I'm assigning our three best fighters to accompany you. You'll be jumping in above the Dark Ring, so you can see through the open end of the station. Our scientist say that because most of the sun's radiation is being reflected inside the sphere, the radiation that escapes out of the holes in the north and south poles, will be tremendous. Your sensors and navigation equipment will likely be useless. You will be a sitting duck. Of course any enemy ships will have to get close to hit you, because they won't be able to get a lock on you either. Because your targeting systems won't work, be careful that you have a clean shot before you fire the igniter."

Lando looked hurt. "Are you saying that I can't hit the broad side of a star?"

"No, I'm saying that you can't accurately predict the radiation pattern that will be shooting out of the top of the Dark Ring. It will be like the Great Aman Coast on Calamari during a tropical storm. The waves will be incredible and unpredictable. Just make sure it's on target before you let it fly. We only have one shot at this, and we need to make sure it's successful."

"What about our escorts?" Lando asked. "Won't their systems be inoperable too? Or are they just there for cannon fodder? If that's the case then I don't want them."

Wedge smiled and shook his head. "These guys probably don't even use their targeting computers."

"Who are they, Jedi?" Lando had heard the story of how Luke had turned off his targeting computer right before firing upon the first Death Star.

Wedge shook his head again. "You don't understand."

"Apparently not," Lando agreed, hinting that he wished to become informed.

"Come with me and I'll introduce you to the 185th fighter squadron."

Wedge led Lando through the assorted collection of fighters. Lando saw that the New Republic was really scrapping the bottom of the barrel for this fight. There were Y-wings and A-wings being serviced and repaired for battle. Lando wondered if they were just cleaning the cobwebs off or actually doing mechanical labor on them. Those fighters had been decommissioned a long time ago. Lando thought privately that the X-wing should go next, but he knew that the popularity of the old ship, largely due to Luke and Wedge, would keep the out of date craft around a lot longer than it should be.

Pondering the history of the X-wing and of the old days of the New Republic, which had then been called the Rebellion, got Lando thinking about all of the giants this rag-tag bunch of fighters had slain. He hadn't been there for the Yavin battle, but he had heard enough about it after it had happened. He had been there against the second Death Star and he knew all about what the New Republic had to go through to defeat Thrawn. Were these Rebels just lucky, or was there something else? If it was just luck, Lando hoped that he wouldn't have to be there when it ran out. In all the many years that the New Republic had existed, there had been few battles in which they had been the favorite to win.

Lando, like Han, hadn't been a big believer in the Force, but just the history of the New Republic's many battles, disregarding what he knew about Luke and all his students, made him more than a little curious as to if there was an over ridding Force controlling the flow of history.

Wedge led Lando past the museum of ships, and they stopped in front of a trio of fighters that Lando had never seen before. "We call them W-wings," Wedge said.

Lando frowned slightly at the name. He had never liked the New Republic's habit of naming ships after letters, but he had to agree that it was a proper name. The centered cockpit swept back on either side into two engines and then back up again into twin laser cannons. Lando could see the torpedo bay underneath the cockpit and immediately saw all of the maneuverability bonuses of the engines without Wedge having to tell him.

"Who designed the ship?" Lando asked.

"I'll let you meet them." Wedge walked into the middle of the three ships and found Vince, Bep, and Jon working on the ships. "Fellas, let me introduce you to Lando Calarissian, the pilot of the ship you're going to be escorting."

The three of them got off their respective apparatuses that they had been propped up on to work on their ships and walked toward Lando. Lando was immediately struck by their collective height. All three of them towered over Lando as they shook his hand. The initial shock of their height quickly passed, and he proceeded to evaluate, who Wedge had called, the best squadron in the fleet.

All three of them appeared to be no older than 20 and they weren't wearing the normal pilot attire. "Do you guys mind if I take a look at your ships?" Lando asked, always the curious mechanic.

They shook their heads collectively. "Go right ahead," Bep said.

Lando walked over to Jon's ship and noticed what he had called him away from initially. There was a half-painted emblem of some kind on the side of his cockpit. Lando pointed to it with a questioning look on his face. "Do you know what a wusket is?" Vince asked.

"Yea, it's a three-eared bat from Corellia."

"It's our symbol," Vince explained.

"Were the Flying Bats," Bep proclaimed.

"The Three Wusket-Ears!" Jon added emphatically.

Lando smiled at the mascot for these misfit pilots. He could already appreciate all of the other comparisons they hadn't pointed out. 'They could fight the enemy blind.' 'Like bats in the night sky, they were deadly in space.' And many more that Lando was sure they spent sleepless nights thinking about. He made his way over to the boarding ladder and climbed it to get a good look inside the cockpit. Vince hurried to get another ladder and propped it up against the other side of the craft. He climbed it quickly so he could answer any questions Lando might have about the controls.

Lando looked at the varied and numerous buttons and switches that crowded the cockpit. He saw that they didn't crowd the cockpit too much because their seemed to be an enormous amount of leg room. Lando saw Vince on the other side of the nose of the fighter and asked him several questions about the contents of the homemade spaceship. He had already guessed the answers to most of his questions, until he came across a small bracket on the side of the interior. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the item in question.

"It's a blaster rifle bracket," Vince replied.

"What you need a weapon for inside a one man fighter?"

Vince looked toward his two friends before answering. "You have to remember that this is Jon's ship." Vince paused. Lando realized this piece of information should have some sort of special meaning to him, but it didn't. Vince realized this after he had said it and continued. "Jon used to fly in a depressurized cabin with a space suit on. After he would disabled an enemy fighter, he would pop the hatch and finish them off with a rifle."

Lando gawked at this new piece of information, wondering if he wanted these guys as his escorts. Vince saw his reaction and smiled. "Don't worry he doesn't do it any more. He found out it slows him down considerably, and gives him too few kills."

Lando remembered that Wedge had claimed this squadron to be the best in the fleet. That recognition usually went to the squadron with the most kills. He also noticed, obviously, that this squadron only had three members. "How many kills does he have?"

Vince reached into the cockpit and flipped a switch under a small digital display. The display lit up, declaring the number '728.' Again Lando gawked at the high number, but paused to consider all of the variables. "How many missions have you guys flown?"

"Forty-eight," Vince answered.

Lando did the math in his head. "That's over fifteen kills a run!" Lando said a little too loud.

"Are you bragging about me again?" a voice came from down below.

Vince leaned over the edge of the ship. "If your head gets any bigger were going to have to get you an Ackgrogian fish tank for a helmet." Lando could here Bep laugh at that comment and add his own insults aimed at Jon. Lando decided these pilots would make fine escorts.

****

Chapter 27 "Family Ties" (Part I)

Han walked cautiously down the street. He just didn't feel safe walking openly in an Imperial city. He knew that with the beard that Luke had given him and the uniform he was wearing, he wouldn't be easily recognized, but that didn't soothe his uneasiness. He stroked the rough whiskers on his face. He had seen himself in a mirror earlier that morning and it had reminded him of a Dr. Kimble he once knew.

He didn't want to stick out too much, so he tried to keep from asking direct questions about Jaina, but without direct questions, he wasn't getting very many direct answers. Han thought that the best way would be to just wander from bar to bar until he found her. He tried to formulate what he would say to her.

If Luke was right and she was under some kind of hypnosis, there wasn't too much he could say that she would believe. "Hello, I'm your father," didn't seem to hold too much water. He also had this sinking feeling that she might be looking for him. Han honestly doubted that the Empire would capture and brainwash a Jedi just to throw her into their city as a nobody. The way that they had molded Jacen into the next Darth Vader, made him think that Jaina was probably some kind of undercover operative, or something like it.

Han doubted that the Empire would simply let Han and Luke roam around their city without trying to apprehend them. Han also doubted that they would send in a whole troop of storm troopers. Not only would that kind of task-force ruin the tidiness of this city, but the Empire knew as well as Han did, that storm troopers were more than inadequate when it came to capturing him and Luke. It was far more likely that they would have an inside operative either spy on them or try to recapture them. Jaina seemed like the perfect choice. Han could imagine the smile on Tallon's face when he gave the orders to Jaina to go capture, kill if necessary, her father.

Han had been to most of the smaller drinking establishments, and was just about to enter another one, when a flashing sign caught his attention. "Imperial Bar and Lounge - Live entertainment every noon." The building beneath the sign was a large one. Han had been avoiding the larger buildings, and therefore most of the people, as much as possible. He realized though, that he was much more likely to find Jaina in one of these larger places than he was in a small one. He had already found out that most of the women in this city were prostitutes, and they always go where the men are. Han sincerely hoped that Jaina wasn't involved with the afore mentioned promiscuous activity, but if she was, this was where she'd be.

Han threw away his old plans of trying to keep a low profile and walked over to the Imperial Bar and Lounge. The inside was pretty crowded but Han was able to find a solitary table in the back. He ordered a glass of ale and scanned the room. Most of the men inside were crowded around a large stage that was set up on one side of the main room. The words "Live entertainment" danced in Han's mind, and he hoped that everything that the Imperials did for entertainment didn't involve sex. Han was about to leave when he noticed a sign at the top of the stage proclaiming the next act. "Skywalker meets the Emperor: What really happened." Han pulled a 180 and went back to his table. This could be interesting.

Han knew what *really* happened on board the Death Star above Endor, and he sincerely doubted that this fiasco was going to be one hundred percent accurate. The curtain lifted and Han saw what he took to be the throne room on the second Death Star. The Emperor was sitting on his throne looking out of the fake window toward the battle over Endor. The Emperor was looking young and healthy, certainly healthier than any of the holos Han had seen of him.

A moment passed and doors opened on the far side of the stage. Darth Vader was unmistakable, but the person he was escorting looked nothing like Luke. "Luke" looked to be about sixteen years old. His hair was more than just a little unkempt, and his pants were rolled up at the ankles, making him look like a kid who was trying on his dad's clothes. Father and son made their way up to the Emperor, Luke tripping on his pants the whole way.

"Welcome young Skywalker, I have been expecting you."

"I'm not young!" Luke shrieked in a voice so shrill that Han's glass quivered. "I'm," Luke paused as he counted on the fingers of handcuffed hands, "twenty-one!"

Vader and the Emperor ignored Luke and continued their performance. Vader walked up to the Emperor and handed him Luke's lightsaber. "Here is his lightsaber, Master." As the lightsaber changed hands, a few of the pieces fell off. Vader was quick to swipe them up and replace them.

"Hey," Luke shouted, "it took me five months to build that!"

Han thought that they were over doing the "little kid" bit, but he scanned the crowd and found that the audience loved it. He was glad that Luke wasn't here.

The Emperor turned the makeshift lightsaber over in his hands. "So you have built your own lightsaber. You are now truly a Jedi." As he was looking at it, it broke completely in half, and Han could see that it had only been held together by a few pieces of electrical tape in the first place.

Luke made another desperate gesture with his hands toward his beloved weapon, but the cuffs inhibited him. As if on cue, the Emperor motioned with his hands and the cuffs fell off. "You won't be needing those."

The cuffs fell off Luke's wrists and landed directly on his foot, causing him to yelp in pain. He reached down and grabbed his foot, hoping around madly on his other one. All this motion caused his baggy paints to descend rapidly. As the large waistline got entangled amongst his knees, he fell to the ground. The audience roared with laughter.

It took several moments for the crowd to quiet and allow the actors to continue. As Vader led Luke to the window where his friends were fighting and losing, Han searched the crowd of people for the first time since entering. He was surprised to find absolutely no females in attendance. He had not expected to find Jaina right away, but now wondered if he had to change his strategy entirely. Maybe the women of the city only appeared at night, or there might be places where women weren't allowed.

Han turned his attention back to the actors on the stage. Luke was fighting Vader now, or at least trying to. His lightsaber, which was a bad prop to begin with, kept blinking on and off. This made for long pauses in the battle while Luke, using a roll of tape and a hammer, tried to fix his ailing weapon.

Finally Luke threw the useless piece of junk to the floor and ran off to hide behind a pole on the edge of the stage. Vader watched him try to hide himself behind the three-centimeter wide pole, but pretended not to know where he was. Vader rambled off to Luke trying to draw him out of hiding. Han listened to Vader's speech with amazement. So far everything other than Luke's childish antics, had happened pretty much as it had 27 years ago. Han wondered how the Imperials got their information on what had happened.

When Vader mentioned Leia, Luke could stand it no longer and ran out from behind his pole, fell at Vader's feet, and began to grovel. Han too could stand it no longer and prepared to leave. He downed the last of his drink and looked up at the door. He froze with his hands on the table. Jaina had just walked into the building.

***

Jaina opened her eyes and groaned. The headache was incredible. She closed her eyes, but the pain remained. She opened her eyes again with the grim reality that she was going to have to face the day sooner or later. She glanced at her clock and realized that it was already later, so she slowly sat up and hung her legs over the edge of her bed. What had caused this awful headache? She searched back in her mind to the previous night. Alcohol. She definitely remembered drinking a terrible amount of alcohol. Men. There were lots of men around. Noisy, obnoxious, drunk men. But there was one man in particular that stuck out in her memory. He was kind of cute. She sat up straight and looked quickly over her shoulder with a sickening feeling. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she saw that the other side of her bed was empty. She looked at her dresser and was happy to see a rather large credit pouch that she didn't recognize. Many men had tried to find their way into her room, and although their money made it without failure, Jaina made sure that they never did.

Jaina smiled at this realization. As bad as her headache was, she was sure that where ever that cute man from last night was, he would have a much worse headache, if he had a head at all.

Now fully awake, Jaina decided to do something about the throbbing in her temples. She closed her eyes and filled her head with a soothing calm that she drew from all around her. She opened her eyes to find the pain gone and herself ready to face the day.

She totally removed herself from her covers and went over to her small bathroom. She looked in the mirror and saw that she was going to need more than just a splash of water in her face to make herself ready. After a long shower and a cup of hot tea, the most ruthless killer on Hastrin was at last at one hundred percent.

She walked over to her desk and turned on her small computer. She started to scroll through the news of the day when she noticed a small blinking light on the console, informing her that she had a message. She pressed the appropriate key sequence and her screen was filled with a picture of Han Solo.

"This is your next assignment." Jaina loved how her superiors called her targets assignments. It made it sound like she was in school and her victims were simply tests. She planed on graduating with straight A's. "His name is Han Solo. He has escaped from our mountain base and is presently suspected to be somewhere in the city. He was scheduled for a public execution, but we would be appreciative if, as always, you didn't make his timely demise all that public. Upon completion of this task, you may pick up your payment from the usual spot.

"There are two catches that make this assignment a little more challenging. The first is of no great importance, and is not likely to cause you that much trouble. Solo is a con artist. Expect him to try to talk his way out of everything. We don't expect this to be a problem with your level of professionalism, but we thought it necessary to bring to your attention.

"The second matter is of much more importance. He escaped with Luke Skywalker." At this point in the mission briefing Han's face disappeared and was replaced with that of Luke's. "We don't know if you are aware of him or not, but he is very dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. We have reason to believe that Solo and Skywalker have separated, so this too should not be a problem. However, if upon locating Solo, you find that Skywalker is still with him, you should abort mission. It is also possible that Skywalker will be able to detect your presence. If a confrontation does occur, do not feel restricted by any of our usual policies. A public confrontation maybe the only way out. If you should happen to dispose of both Solo and Skywalker, four times your usual pay will be found in the normal spot. Do not view this added payment as incentive to seek out Skywalker. End of message."

Jaina knew of Skywalker. He had visited her ancestors on Dathomir shortly before she had been born. He had judged the night sisters to be evil and had set out to destroy them. Her parents had escaped but only to be killed a few years later by the New Republic. She knew of Skywalker's strength and both hoped that he wouldn't be with Solo, and at the same time that she might be able to enact revenge on him.

Jaina looked at her clock and saw it was almost noon. Solo would probably be in a bar somewhere. She reached out with her inherited magical abilities, searching for Solo. With a name, a picture, and a probable mental condition, she was usually able to find her victims without leaving her room. She settled on a man in the Imperial Bar and Lounge. He had a beard that the man in the picture did not posses, but she was sure it was Solo.

After grabbing her invisi-blade and cloak, she made her way out of her room. She left the building and entered the street in the same secretive fashion that she always did, with her hood up and her presence concealed. The walk to the Imperial bar and Lounge was a long one, so she had time to think of her tactics. If Skywalker was there, she might not be able to turn back. With that thought, she stopped in the street and did a mental scanning of the distant eating establishment. If Skywalker was there, he was hiding his presence from her. She continued walking after receiving a few odd stares, cursing herself for not rehiding her presence before beginning the search.

If Solo was alone, she decided that she would have a little extra fun. He would no doubt try to con her in some way, and it would be fun to play along, for a while.

She entered the bar and saw that the entertainment was already in progress. She took a few seconds to appreciate the form of Luke Skywalker groveling at the feet of Vader before she scanned the crowd. She removed her hood and looked around at all of the men seated there. Solo wasn't hard to pick out. He was staring right at her. Jaina dispelled the initial shock of him staring at her with a bit of logic. She hadn't even thought about what clothes she had put on this morning. In her line of work she so often played the role of the seductress that she owned plenty of revealing clothes. She knew she was wearing particularly revealing ones now and used this to explain Solo's sudden interest in her arrival. She snickered at his state of total absorption in her appearance. Men trapped in lust were twice as easy to work with as men who were drunk. She swished her hips as she walked over to his table.

She ran through opening lines as she neared him. "Excuse me, is this seat taken?" "Have we met before?" "How's the show?" "You look lonely." She didn't get to use any of them, because Solo spoke first.

"Jaina! I've been looking every where for you!"

Jaina was shocked. Very few people knew her name, at least her real name. If this guy was a con man, he was indeed quite good. No one, no matter how good, could guess that well without any inside information. She looked around at the rest of the room to see if anyone else was in hearing range. Everyone else was busy watching Vader rebuke Skywalker and telling him not to act like such a baby. No one was paying any attention to her and Solo.

She quickly sat down and decided against playing her seductive role. "How do you know my name?" she asked. Normally she would have shrugged off such a comment, but she didn't mind opening herself up a little bit to this man. After all, nothing she told him would ever get repeated. Dead men don't tell tales.

Han did some quick thinking. "Your father told me."

"My father is dead. Strike one. Like in smashball, four strikes and you're out."

"No he's not. He's part of the New Republic. He sent me to find you."

"Strike two. My father was killed by the New Republic, so if he were to come back to life, I sincerely doubt that he would join them," Jaina was smiling. Maybe she'd help him out. "If my father sent you, you know my last name."

Han paused. He knew what it used to be. "Solon?" he guessed, remembering what Jacen had called himself.

"Strike three," she tried to ignore how close he was to Solok and gave him one last try. "Tell me one thing that only my father would know."

Han knew this answer. "You have a purplish birth mark on your upper left thigh."

Five points for a smashball banza, Jaina thought. She quickly grew serious. Han felt his throat tighten in a Force grip. "Who are you?" she sneered.

"Your father sent me," Han choked, sticking with his original story. Jaina held him in her grip as she thought about the situation. Han was growing blue in the face and he was having a hard time keeping balanced on his chair. He motioned to Jaina that he wanted to speak and needed more air. She let him go, and his chair slammed back down onto all fours.

The noise startled a few of the closer men. They glanced at the table and saw Han panting heavily staring at Jaina. They also saw what Jaina was wearing, put two and two together, and decided to watch the father and son show on stage.

"You better start making sense soon, pal." Jaina tried to think of any other way that Solo might know about that birthmark. None of the men she'd ever been with had ever gotten far enough with her to discover that mark, at least none that she could remember. She looked at Solo still gasping for air. This man was old enough to be her father; he had definitely never gotten that far with her.

"Your father sent me," he started over. "Your parents aren't dead. They weren't on the ship when it blew up." Han took a risk in guessing the means of death that the Empire had implanted in her head. He figured that it was a pretty safe gamble. "The New Republic was after someone else on the ship, so they kept your parents off it. But in order to keep true motives safe, they had to keep your parents in hiding, to complete the illusion." This story made no sense to Han, but Jaina appeared to be soaking it up. "As soon as that part of the war was over, your parents began looking for you. I finally found you."

Everything that Solo was saying made sense to Jaina. She had never seen her parents actually get on that ship, and the whole memory was a little bit hazy. She stopped her line of thinking at once. She had been told that Solo would try to talk his way out of everything, and here she was buying into his story like some kind of amateur. But she couldn't just discount everything Solo had said. He had recognized her right away and did seem to know a lot about her.

"What are you supposed to do now?" she asked. "Surely you know that I'm working for the Empire now and have no love for the New Republic." Jaina didn't care if she was telling this man highly classified information. She had already done a sweep of his person and found he didn't have any type of recording or broadcasting device on him. He didn't even have a blaster.

"You're supposed to come with me so I can show you further proof."

"Where are we supposed to go?"

"Coruscant."

"Whoa, buddy. Aren't we getting a little over anxious? I'm not going anywhere near Coruscant."

Han knew that Coruscant was a stretch, but he felt that he would need Leia's help to turn her back. She should be back from Hapes by now.

Jaina considered this change in events. She doubted that her superiors would let her go to Coruscant, but then if she went, she wouldn't tell them anyway. There was something deep inside her, something she couldn't identify, that was telling her to trust this man. Something telling her that he was an old family friend. She nodded slowly. "Okay, Solo, how do we get to Coruscant."

Han couldn't believe his ears. He hadn't really expected Jaina to go along with him. "Well," he started, "I don't have a ship here. I came in on a transport from the Imperial station. This is where you come in."

This last comment won Jaina over. If he was really trying to trick her, he wouldn't have admitted that he had no way off the planet, placing his fate in her hands. She still had doubts about him but they were now reclusive. "I can get us a ship," she said.

The two of them got up and left the bar, just as Vader was heaving Skywalker down the elevator shaft.

Jaina led the way down the street with Han in toe. Han was looking around at the people they were passing. He wondered why some of them were giving him a look like he was going to his own funeral. He paused to regard his daughter in front of him. What kind of reputation did she have in this city? Han felt the sooner that Jaina remembered who she was, the better.

They walked to the edge of town where Han had never been. Jaina picked her way skillfully through a thick crowd of men who were pouring out of one of the near by buildings. A noise caused Han to turn his gaze to the sky. The transport that had just dropped off these men was now leaving. He looked back down and it took him a while to relocate Jaina in the thick crowd. She was making her way to a less busy space port.

Han wondered how they were going to get past the guard at the door, but Jaina produced a small card from beneath her cloak and the guard let them go through. Jaina moved through the clean halls with a quick step, and Han could barely keep up. The maze of hallways soon led to a large hanger with several shuttles.

Jaina stopped and turned to Han. "Don't be surprised how easily it will be for us to get a ship, or how strangely some people might act toward me. I have," she paused searching for the right word, "a certain 'way' with people."

Han nodded. "I know of your Force skills. Your mother has them too."

This last statement only strengthened Jaina's resolve that she was doing the right thing. Nobody could know about her mother's ability except a family friend.

As they made their way to the nearest shuttle an Imperial officer ran up to them. "Excuse me. This is a restricted area. These ships aren't for the public use."

"We can use this ship," Jaina said with that eerie quality to her voice Han was so used to.

"You can use this ship," the officer repeated.

"You will get it prepped for take off for us."

"I'll get it ready for take off for you," he said, and scrambled away to do just that.

Ten short minutes later, Jaina and Han were aboard the shuttle as it lifted away from the city. They were soon in space, and after gaining clearance from the patrolling fleet, they blasted off into hyperspace.

Han wasn't in the cockpit when they left. He didn't feel comfortable next to his daughter. This thought angered him. The Empire had tried to kidnap his kids for a long time, and it had made his life as a parent horrible. Seeing what they had turned Jaina and Jacen into nearly drove him to tears.

Jaina walked into the room where he was sitting. Han composed himself and looked up at her. He could tell that she was tired of waiting. "Okay, Solo. I just disobeyed about a hundred different Imperial regulations, and I don't even really know why. I want some answers right now, or I'm turning this ship around."

"I've told you everything I know," he tried, but he knew that she was going to need proof.

"You have to have some kind of hard evidence. If you came here to bring me away from Hastrin without evidence, then you're not a very good family friend."

An idea started to form in Han's mind. "You can read minds, right?"

"If someone lets me, yes."

"Then you can see if I'm telling you the truth."

Jaina paused, looking for a trap. Seeing none, she nodded slowly. She sat down across from Han, and he watched as she closed her eyes and began to concentrate. He could feel a little tingle in the back of his mind and he tried to gain control of his thoughts.

He knew that he had only one shot at this, if he failed then Jaina would never take him to Coruscant, and would probably kill him, like she was supposed to. Han closed his eyes and began to think about his life with Jaina. Somewhere in the recesses of Jaina's mind she still had her true memory, Han just needed to jog it a little. As quickly as he could he ran through his memories of Jacen and Jaina. He remembered their birth and his immense joy. He ran through the all of the attempted kidnappings; the birth of Anakin; all of the games of hide and seek that they had played; the first flight they had together in the Falcon; the trip they had taken to Corellia and all of the dramatic events that it had entailed; the time Jaina had broken her arm and he had rushed her to the medical center in his arms; the time he had dropped them off at the Academy; all of his many visits to the Academy; and finally of their graduation less than a month ago.

Han opened his eyes and found the sassy, hard-edged assassin that had been sitting across from him when he had closed his eyes, was now his crying 22-year-old daughter. Jaina held her face in her hands, and was shaking violently. "Jaina?" Han asked.

"Dad," Jaina looked up from her hands, tears running freely from her eyes. Han rushed over to her and embraced her, as a loving father should. "Dad," she started again, "I'm so sorry. I," but she was choked of by her continuing sobs.

"It's okay," Han promised. "Everything's going to be okay."

They remained locked in their embrace for what seemed to Han like hours. He would gladly have stayed there, holding his daughter forever, but she broke off suddenly.

"Jacen and Lowbacca."

"What?" Han asked.

"All three of us came to rescue you and Uncle Luke."

"Luke's fine," Han answered her unasked question.

"We were captured. They must have brain was-," she started to cry again. "I've killed so ma-" she fought against the tears. "I was supposed to kill you." The tears began to flow again. Han moved in close again, but she shook her head and cleared her throat. "I'm okay, but we have to go back for Jacen and Lowie."

Han nodded. "Luke is going after Jacen, but we didn't know where to look for Lowbacca or if he had even come with you."

Jaina was now almost back in total control of her emotions. "I think I remember over-hearing some men talking about how there was a new wookiee at the Arena who was the best fighter they had ever seen." She looked over at her father. "Do you know what the Arena is?"

Han nodded, not wanting to tell that story now, seeing as how he didn't even fully understand what had taken place with Luke. That story could wait for another day. Both of them ran off to the cockpit. They left hyperspace, turned the ship around, and set a new course for Hastrin.

****

Chapter 28 "Family Ties" (Part II)

Luke found the ground transport where he and Han had left it. He wasn't questioned or approached as he boarded the craft and flew it out of the building. The streets were crowded and Luke had to move slowly through them to avoid hitting anyone. Once out of the city, Luke could move more freely and he accelerated to a modest speed.

Luke had to think about what he needed to do. He had been part of, or a spectator to, several of these types of confrontations before. He knew that there were several different ways to go about such a confrontation.

When Luke had confronted Darth Vader on Bespin, he had every intention of killing him. It was a very naive notion, Luke realized now, but it had been his motivation at the time. He had gone into that confrontation with blaster firing and lightsaber swinging, trying to save his friends. Luke thought that this time the situation warranted a different approach.

On Wayland he had gone again to destroy C'boath, but he had allowed a little room for trying to turn him away from the Dark Side. There had been no good in the evil clone, and Luke had been forced into a battle to the death. Luke knew that there was good in Jacen, but it would be likely that Jacen would not remember it.

The situation varied only slightly from Endor for that same reason. Luke had gone to face his father, knowing that Vader remembered who Anakin Skywalker was and what he used to be. Jacen wasn't likely to remember who he used to be. Luke knew that they had planted false memories in Jacen of his time at the Academy, and Luke doubted that they would even remotely compare to the actual time Jacen had spent there. Also when Luke had faced his father above Endor, he had freely surrendered to the Empire. Now, since Jacen had no agenda involving a Dark Skywalker, he would have Luke killed on the spot. To top everything off, Luke had no weapon. He could get a blaster from the first guard he met, he had no doubt about that, but a blaster, even in the hands of Luke, was no comparison to a lightsaber in the hands of a Jedi.

Luke decided that he must go about this confrontation like a combination between Endor and what he saw take place between Obi Wan and Vader on the first Death Star. He needed to go into the mountain complex looking for his lightsaber, knowing that he would eventually run into Jacen. Luke only hoped for a better out come than Obi Wan had gotten. Jacen would try to cut down Luke with out hesitation, unlike all of the conversation that had taken place on the second Death Star. Luke needed that conversation. He had been brainwashed before, and he knew how to over-come it, but he first had to talk his way into Jacen's mind, and that wouldn't be easy.

Luke slowed the transport as he neared the edge of the forest clearing. He hid the vehicle amongst the trees and moved cautiously toward the base. He scouted the outskirts of the mountain. There were a few patrolling storm troopers and a couple stationary guards. Luke had only been in and out of one of the doors and knew very little about the inside of the fortress. He reached out with the Force to try and get a sense of where the largest mass of people was. He ran into the ysalamiri field. Luke shook his head in frustration. This wasn't going to be easy. He had to find a place where he could cross the field without being seen.

Luke moved through the forest looking for an opening in the base's defenses. Luke couldn't see any of the ysalamiri that were causing the field, but remembered that most of this base was underground and so were the ysalamiri, most likely. Luke finally found a spot were there didn't seem to be any stationary guards. Luke began timing the passage of the patrols and found that they operated on an organized time schedule. Tallon sure kept the base operating in a secure manner. Luke hid himself with the Force and crept to the edge of the ysalamiri field. He paused as he timed the guards passing. He didn't know how wide the ysalamiri field was, but he only had a 15-second window to work with between patrols. Luke saw the storm troopers round the corner of the cliff, and he bolted forward into the Forceless bubble.

***

The E-wing dropped out of hyperspace and into the ocean of life that was the Force. Anakin had practiced this transition from hyperspace to invisibility in real space before he tried it outside of Hastrin, but here in the midst of a large Imperial fleet, it worked perfectly. Anakin guided the fighter through the orbiting ships without once showing up on any of the Star Destroyer's sensors. Anakin broke orbit and descended into the atmosphere. He allowed his ship to free fall several kilometers before he activated the planetary repulsers, knowing that the surge in energy would be hard to hide in the Force.

The E-wing skimmed over the treetops and instinctively made its way toward the large mountain range on the horizon. Anakin placed his fighter down neatly next to the Scavenger. Anakin was glad to see his siblings' ship in one piece. Jacen and Jaina had thought that they had kept the ship a secret from everyone, but Anakin had always known about it. In fact several times at night he would go check out their progress. He had checked over their work meticulously. Working with machines had always come naturally to Anakin, and he had used this skill to fix a lot of problems that he had found wrong with the ship during his nightly inspections. He smiled, knowing that if Jaina had known that all of her problems that had fixed themselves "miraculously" in the night, were actually being fixed by her little brother, she would have thrown a fit.

Anakin locked down the E-wing and walked into the woods toward the mountain fortress armed with only his lightsaber. He had no idea what he was going to find inside. Lowbacca, Jacen, and Jaina had left Yavin IV two weeks ago, so they'd been here for a little over a week now. Anakin feared the worst, and hoped the best, though he couldn't think of what that best would be.

As he neared the base he reached out with the Force but ran into a blockade. Ysalamiri. Anakin had to use only his eyes to see what he needed to. This side of the base mostly consisted of cliff faces and rocky slopes. Anakin figured that the other side of the base was the front and contained all of the entrances. Anakin didn't see too many patrols walking around, but even if there were, they didn't bother him. Anakin spotted what looked like a landing pad at the top of one cliff and he thought he could make out a turbo lift shaft going down into the mountain. Seeing that as the only entrance so far, he walked toward the cliff.

Anakin approached the same cliff that his brother, sister, and friend had a week earlier. Just like they had, Anakin felt the ysalamiri field closing in around him. Unlike the earlier trio, Anakin knew how to fight back. He drew on the Force and pushed back against the small creatures. One meter beneath him, in the tunnels of the base, Anakin could feel the creatures cry out in protest and shrivel up. With his mind clear again, Anakin started up the cliff.

***

Darth Solon strode purposefully into Tallon's office. "Skywalker has returned."

Tallon looked up from his computer. "What do you want me to do?" He didn't mind taking the back seat when it came to Skywalker and the Force. Tallon knew that Solon had a lot more experience with these things.

"Where is his lightsaber?" the Dark Lord asked.

Tallon opened a drawer in his desk. Inside were two lightsabers, Skywalker's and Lowbacca's. Tallon picked up Skywalker's lightsaber and offered it to Solon. Solon shook his head. "Keep it here, he will come for it."

"You mean to set a trap for him?" Tallon said. He wasn't so much asking the question as he was trying to get all of the details out of him. Solon told him the details.

***

Luke found himself on the other side of the ysalamiri field in less than ten seconds. He quickly hid himself in the Force just as the second patrol came around the bend a full four seconds early. There were only four of them and Luke rushed over and rendered them unconscious. Luke needed all of his concentration for the task at hand, so he unhid himself. Luke thought of all of the split concentration exercises that he put his students through and wondered what they would think of him now.

Luke picked up one of the blasters, changed the setting to stun, and moved to the nearest entrance. Luke took out both guards with two well-aimed shots and defeated the security lock with the Force.

Luke crept slowly into the hallway beyond the door and used the Force as a flashlight, illuminating the path ahead of him. He came to a fork, sensed four people down one path, and took the other route.

Jedi develop a special link with their lightsaber during its construction, and Luke used this link to try and locate his weapon. Luke became extra wary when he realized the path of least resistance through the building was also the path leading him to his lightsaber. He smelled the trap right away, but saw no way around it. Luke paused at a door that was tugging at him in the Force. It was locked, but Luke defeated it easily, and it slid open.

The room was empty except for a large desk and a chair behind it. Luke moved quickly to the desk and opened the drawer. He saw his lightsaber and one that he immediately recognized as Lowbacca's. He had no belt for either of them so he put Lowbacca's in his pocket and held his in his hand.

"Hello, Luke Skywalker."

Luke spun and faced the door. There stood Tallon wearing a nutrient frame fully equipped with an ysalamiri. He was holding a blaster aimed right at Luke. Luke quickly ignited his lightsaber and stood ready.

Tallon knew what Solon's plan was, but he thought it was too risky. "I guess this is the end of the line for you." Tallon fired two quick shots at Luke, not knowing how far the ysalamiri field spread. Luke deflected both bolts smoothly, sending the second bolt back at Tallon. Tallon flinched but had no time to react. The bolt wasn't aimed at him, however, but blew his nutrient frame to pieces. The ysalamiri lay on the floor dying. Tallon looked from the floor back to Luke. He knew when he was beaten. He turned and fled out of the room.

Luke made chase. He came out of the room and was faced with 20 armed storm troopers. Not wishing to try his luck, he bolted off down the nearest connecting hallway.

"After him!"

As he ran, Luke let his lightsaber trail behind him, deflecting a few random shots. He came to a sudden fork. He didn't have enough time to scan with the Force so he picked the path with the fewest storm troopers. He cut down three men in white and black while five more shot at his back.

If Luke had taken the time to scan, he would have definitely chosen the other path because this hallway not only ended in a dead end, but a Forceless one. Luke pulled up fast as he felt the fringes of the ysalamiri bubble. He turned around and saw that the 20 storm troopers had been joined by 20 of their closest friends and were ready to have a party at Luke's expense. They weren't firing yet, respecting Luke's ability to redirect their lasers, but they were closing in fast.

Luke glanced over his shoulder at the dead end, looking for some way out. He saw a turbolift door that he hadn't seen before. He reached out with the Force, straining against the unseen ysalamiri, and just managed to open the doors. Luke turned his back to the storm troopers, took two big steps, got shot in the leg, and leaped into the lift. He scrambled for the switch to close the doors, and they slid shut just ahead of the storm troopers.

Tallon watched the scene unfold in front of him. He guessed that Solon's plan was going to have to work after all.

***

In the lift Luke waited patiently for the ysalamiri field to disappear. He recognized this turbolift as the one that had brought him and Han down into the base when they had first arrived. Finally the field disappeared, and Luke could tend to his injured leg. It wasn't that bad of a burn. The bolt had just grazed his knee. After a few seconds of healing, it was strong enough to stand on, and Luke was confident that it would heal completely.

Luke saw that the turbolift was almost to the top, and he stood waiting for the doors to open. Just as the lift stopped moving, Luke could feel a strong presence in the Force, and he tensed himself. The doors opened revealing the cliff-side landing pad where Han and Luke had first landed on Hastrin. Standing right in the middle of the sandy area was Jacen.

"We meet again, Skywalker."

Luke stepped out of the lift just before the doors closed.

"Jacen, I've been looking for you."

Jacen grinned. "So, we are on a first name basis now, Luke?" Jacen drew both of his lightsabers and held them unlit in his hands. "Before I was only a student, but now I am the Master."

"Only a master of evil, Jacen. You used to be in control of good." Luke began to sweat as he watched Jacen pace slowly with both lightsaber handles in his hands. Luke hadn't even thought about how he was going to fight Jacen. After Luke had watched his prized student make mincemeat out of the fighting remotes back at the Academy, he promised himself he would never fight Jacen. He wasn't sure what the effect on the students would be if their Master lost to a student. Luke was sure he could beat Jacen if they each used only one lightsaber, but the two twirling blue blades of Jacen were hard enough to trace, much less parry.

Jacen saw Luke's apprehension and smiled. "Perhaps I shall make it fair and fight with only one blade." Jacen made a motion to put one of the blades back. "Or maybe not." Both blades lit up, and Jacen charged.

Luke had deactivated his weapon in the lift, but he opened up his blade now and managed to thwart the initial attack by batting both blades wide with two quick parries. Luke flipped forwards over Jacen and ran into the middle of the clearing, giving himself more room to work with. Luke felt the bulge in his pocket, remembering he had Lowbacca's lightsaber with him. The idea left him as soon as it had come. He had never trained with two blades, and Jacen was only able to do it because he had shrunk his blades to a custom length.

Jacen turned to face Luke. "What are your parents' names?" Luke had to get him talking.

Jacen sneered at the desperate attempt. "They're dead, what does it matter?"

Luke charged this time, sweeping and stabbing. Jacen pinched the attack between his blades and spun it wide. He followed the vigorous parry with a slashing blue 'X.' Luke had to move quickly to get his blade parallel to the ground to block the attack.

"What are their names!" Luke shouted, adding a little hypnotic suggestion that he didn't think Jacen would be ready for.

"Hanson and Leon Solon!" Jacen screamed back as he blocked a sideways swipe from Luke. Jacen followed through with two swipes of his own, one high and one low. Luke blocked the high one and leaped over the low one. With their blades still in contact high, Luke used his weapon's extra length to force Jacen's blade down and across his body. Luke rotated his wrists down and around, bringing his blade down onto Jacen's prone figure.

Jacen's double swipe left his arms crossed and both blades pointing down. It was only because Luke didn't wish to cause Jacen harm that allowed the youth to recover instead of retreating. Jacen brought his top blade back up to block the attack and sent his lower blade in search of Luke's legs.

Luke was so worried that he might strike Jacen, he didn't see the low attack until it was too late. Jacen picked his spot well, and the blue lightsaber slashed across Luke's already injured leg, undoing any healing that had taken place in the lift and causing still more damage.

Luke hobbled backward on his good leg and tried to see if his bad one could hold his weight. It couldn't. Jacen got up from his crouch and saw his enemy's helpless state and smiled.

"What's your brother's name?" Luke asked.

Jacen paused for half a second. Did he have a brother? He remembered the false memory he had had of one. Or was it false? This confusion angered him more. He began to twirl his blades around him in an ever-accelerating display of swordsmanship. "What are your parent's names?" he asked as he struck out at Luke. "What's your sister's name? How old are you? When's your birthday? What's your favorite color?" With each question, Jacen slashed at Luke.

Off balanced, Luke couldn't even hope to block the attacks. A blade hit him in the side, nicked him in the shoulder, and burned his thigh. Luke went to one knee and noticed that he was at the edge of the cliff. He grabbed his bleeding side with his real hand and tried to fend of Jacen's onslaught with the other one.

Jason attacked the mechanical hand, severing it at the base of the fingers. Luke's lightsaber flew over the edge of the cliff. Luke was in a crumpled state of pain as he looked up at his nephew. Jacen still wouldn't let him in his mind, and Luke was out of tricks.

Jacen stood over his former master, definitely in control of the situation. "What would you like on your tombstone?" he asked one final question as he lashed out with his booted foot. He kicked Luke squarely under the chin, sending him both into unconsciousness and flying over the edge of the cliff.

***

Anakin heard the noise from the top of the cliff and reached out to see who was up there. Anakin was quite good at spilt concentration tasks and managed to keep climbing up the cliff while he scanned the area above him. As good as he was, he almost lost his grip when he found out who was fighting.

What was wrong with Jacen? Anakin could feel something clouding his mind and emanating an evil aura. Had the Empire turned him to the Dark Side? No, there was something very false about the emotions he was projecting.

When Luke's lightsaber came flying over the edge above, Anakin doubled his pace. He didn't see his uncle's body fly over the edge right away, but he could feel Luke leave the conscious plane. Anakin saw Luke tumble to the ground out of the corner of his eye and caught him a few meters above the ground. Anakin lowered him gently the rest of the way and put him in a meditative trance.

Anakin looked up and could see Jacen looking over the edge two meters up. Jacen smiled when he saw Luke's body lying at the bottom of the long drop. Anakin scrambled up quickly, not wanting to get caught on the edge of the cliff.

Jacen couldn't feel anything from Luke and took that to be because he was in the ysalamiri field when actually it was because Anakin had hid his presence in the Force. Jacen turned away from the cliff side scene satisfied that Luke was finished. As he turned he noticed movement to his left and saw Anakin scramble onto the plateau.

Both of Jacen's lightsabers were still activated, and he turned to face this new foe. Anakin stood still, his lightsaber still dangling from his side. Jacen saw the lightsaber immediately and picked Anakin out as a student come to save his master. "You're too late," he sneered, "I just through him off the cliff."

"That you did, brother."

Jacen took a step back, reevaluating this newcomer. He was getting rather sick and tired of people constantly implying that he had siblings when he was an only child. "Who are you?"

"I'm your brother, Jacen." Anakin tried to keep the hurt out of his voice from being unfamiliar to his own kin. Anakin could feel a lot of confusion from Jacen, and he tried to reach out to his mind, but Jacen shut down hard.

"You'd be wise to stay out of my mind, brother," he spat out the last word, and Anakin wasn't fooled by Jacen's supposed turn. Jacen charged Anakin, seeing his precarious position, standing on the edge.

Anakin didn't flinch. "I don't want to fight you."

Jacen slashed through his motionless brother and realized that he wasn't really there, but his image was being projected via the Force. Jacen spun away from the illusion, which faded as he turned, and found Anakin standing behind him with his lightsaber drawn and the blade pointed three centimeters away from his chest. "I don't want to fight you."

Jacen batted the blade away with a one two strike combo and followed the strike with a spinning double low, double high strike. Anakin's blade moved almost magically quick, deflecting each strike with precision. Anakin flipped back and away from the flurry of blue that was his brother.

"A worthy opponent," Jacen said when he saw the skill in which Anakin had defeated his attack.

Anakin conceded that the fight was unavoidable. "A rematch," he said bluntly.

"Only this time I have the clear advantage with two blades to your one." Jacen rushed in, but paused halfway when he realized what he had said.

"You remember our last fight together," Anakin said realizing that his real brother was beginning to surface out of this fake.

Jacen staggered, almost falling to the ground. Memories were washing over him, memories he didn't know he had, memories he didn't want. With a shout of rage he threw them out of his head and focused on Anakin.

Anakin backed away from the hate machine that was staring him down. "I'm going to kill you, Anakin," Jacen said coldly and matter-of-factly.

"You remember my name."

This was too much for Jacen. He had just fought the battle with his memories, but now they came back with renewed vigor and intensity. Jacen dropped both of his lightsabers and fell to his knees.

Anakin reached out to his brother and found that his barriers were down. Anakin took a deep breath and jumped into the utter turmoil that made up Jacen's consciousness. It was like a dream world, Anakin couldn't tell at first which memories were real and which were fabrications. After closer examination, Anakin found one characteristic that was unique about some of the memories; they were without the Force. The Force had always been with Jacen, and each of his real memories should have had some sort of Force stamp on them. Jedi see the world differently. They can see the emotions of others. They can feel the power around them and generally have a heightened sense of awareness. There were some memories that didn't have these qualities. If the Empire had implanted them artificially, then that would explain their lack of the Force. Anakin tried to show this to Jacen. He grabbed him by the mental shoulders and shook him into coherence. Together they walked through his mind, throwing away the false memories and all of the false hatred that went with them.

After what seemed like hours, but was actually only a few seconds. They both opened their eyes. Jacen's eyes were rimmed with tears at the horrors that he had been apart of. "It's not your fault," Anakin soothed.

Jacen tried to get up but couldn't. He felt nauseous. He looked around the cliff trying to get a clear bearing on what was happening. He saw the blood stained dirt where he had kicked Luke off the cliff. "No!"

Jacen scrambled over to the cliff, strengthened by his sudden anger. Anakin felt his anger and realized the danger. "He's okay. Uncle Luke is going to be fine."

"I threw him off this cliff!" Jacen screamed at Anakin as if he didn't understand what had happened.

"I know. I caught him. He's hurt, but he'll live."

The doors to the turbolift opened and both brothers spun to see who was coming. Tallon stood in the open lift and stared at the scene. It didn't take him long to figure out something wasn't right.

"You!" Jacen screamed. "It's your fault!"

One of Jacen's lightsabers leapt off the ground and flew to Jacen's hand. Before Anakin could stop him, Jacen hurled the weapon at his former commander. Tallon scrambled for the door switch as soon as Jacen summoned his lightsaber. The doors slid shut just as the sword hit the lift, sinking into the metal up to its hilt. Tallon was flattened up against the back of the lift while the blue blade protruded from the door, ending only forty centimeters away from his chest. Tallon was about to relax when the blade suddenly grew thirty-five more centimeters. Tallon didn't move a muscle, praying that the lightsaber didn't have another length setting. By now the lift had started its descent, and the handle got caught on the ground outside of the lift. The blade made a clean vertical cut along the door and finally through the roof of the lift before it left.

Anakin ran over to his brother and put a hand gently on his shoulder. "Let go of the anger, Jacen. Whoever that was, he'll pay in due time. But not because of revenge, because of justice." This seemed to cool Jacen somewhat. He called both his weapons back to him and placed them, deactivated, on his belt.

They both turned and leaped off the cliff. They floated like leaves to the ground, and Jacen quickly bent over his uncle's prone form and checked his vital signs. The bleeding from his side had stopped and all of his wounds had a warm feel to them as the Force worked to heel them.

"We need to get out of here," Jacen said, looking around.

"Where are Lowbacca, Jaina, and Dad?"

"Dad's probably in the city, but I don't know what the Empire did with Jaina and Lowbacca. If the Imperials have touched a hair on Jaina's head, I'll . . ."

Anakin could feel the anger rising back to the surface. "Justice, not revenge. Always remember that. And remember that she's my sister too."

Jacen nodded, not feeling awkward accepting advice and correction from his younger, but seemingly, wiser brother. "Uncle Luke probably took the speeder they stole when they escaped. It should be hidden in the forest on the other side of the base."

"It looks like we have a mountain to climb then," Anakin said. Jacen rushed off to retrieve Luke's lightsaber, pausing only briefly to regard the remains of the severed hand. The two of them helped each other move their uncle and started off into the forest in search of a good place to cross the mountain range.

***

Tallon waited as the lift lowered itself back into the depths of the base. He wasn't looking forward to the confrontation with Thrawn that he knew was unavoidable. Thrawn had given him free reign, only occasionally suggesting certain courses of action. Tallon had been quick to follow those suggestions and had been met with undeniable success. It was only recently that failure started to creep into the works. Tallon had forgotten to follow Thrawn's advice regarding the possibility that Luke's surgery might have been undone. That problem had now ballooned into an even bigger problem, with ramifications of which Tallon was sure he had not yet seen the end.

The doors opened at the bottom of the shaft, and Tallon saw that he was going to have the dreaded confrontation sooner than he had thought. Thrawn gazed quizzically at Tallon as he stepped out of the lift. Tallon called on all of his training to try to remain rigid in front of the all-knowing eyes of the admiral. Thrawn wasn't fooled. He could tell from the initial shock in Tallon's face from his presence, that Tallon didn't have any good news to tell. Also the cut in the turbolift doors was still smoking, meaning that Tallon had just survived an attack from the Jedi.

"Report," Thrawn demanded, growing impatient with the game Tallon was trying to play. The two of them started walking down the hall.

"I'm uncertain of all the details, sir, but I was just attacked by Darth Solon."

"And why would our most trusted Lord of the Sith attack his commanding officer?" Thrawn asked with a ring of sarcasm.

He no doubt knew the answer, Tallon thought. "I'm not certain." Thrawn stared at Tallon, not accepting that answer. "It is possible that he has been turned away from the Dark Side."

"Do you think that this might have anything to do with the fact that the person who beat you to him was Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master? The only person in known history who has successfully turned a Dark Lord of the Sith away from the Dark Side." Tallon stood fast under the rebuke that he knew he deserved. "In Vader's case, he ended up killing his master, the Emperor. Feel lucky that Jacen only attacked you."

"This is only a minor set back," Tallon tried to salvage the situation. "We will still crush the New Republic at Danzig 359."

"Minor set back?" Thrawn questioned Tallon's judgment. "Jacen was to play a major role in the upcoming battle at Danzig 359." Tallon understood that Thrawn had used C'boath in the past to coordinate his fleet attacks and had been planing to do the same with Jacen. "Now we have the Solo boy and Skywalker loose on Hastrin. Have you received any word from Jaina?" Tallon shook his head. "When was the last time Jaina has taken this long to perform a job?"

"She has never taken this long before," Tallon gave the answer that Thrawn already knew.

"I believe that it's quite probable that Solo has had a little more luck than we figured on. If that's the case we have three Jedi loose on Hastrin. That is of course before they get to Lowbacca."

Tallon knew that Thrawn didn't have all of the facts. "I saw another Jedi on the landing pad next to Jacen. I didn't recognize him."

Thrawn had expected news like this to come out. He had received reports from a concerned hallway guard that two of the ysalamiri in the perimeter had suddenly shriveled up and died. The spot was just below the landing pad and had happened when Luke was still in the base. If this new Jedi had powers strong enough to repel ysalamiri, something that Luke couldn't even do, then they were indeed in trouble.

"So we have a potential of five Jedi on Hastrin," Thrawn said.

Tallon was beginning to see that they were in more trouble than he had thought. "I'll organize a storm trooper squad equipped with ysalamiri to hunt them down."

"You'll do nothing of the sort," Thrawn said and stopped in the middle of the hallway to face the much taller Tallon. "I am from this point on assuming command of this outpost. You will go up to the fleet in orbit around the planet and set up a planetary shield. If we can't find the Jedi quickly, we can't allow them to leave either."

Tallon had wondered when this transfer of power was going to take place. He had looked forward to serving under Thrawn, but hadn't foreseen that his failure was what was going to bring about the transfer. Tallon saluted smartly, and went off in search of the shuttle hanger.

****

Chapter 29 "The Dark Ring" (Prelude)

Wedge watched from the command deck of the Calamari Cruiser, The New Frontier, as the Hapans dropped out of hyperspace. The New Republic was in orbit around Endor. Wedge was skeptical about using the forest moon as the jumping spot simply because it seemed way too cliché. He had been here 27 years ago fighting the Death Star, and now they were going to fight another Imperial super weapon. Wedge had been hesitant, but the advantage of this spot was too great to pass up. Endor was only eight hours outside of the Danzig system and meeting at a planet also helped hide the number of ships from any probes that might be on the alert. The planet of Endor also provided a large moral booster, but the real moral booster was the 75 Hapan ships that were dropping in right now.

Leia was in the hanger of The New Frontier when Wedge came down to get her. Wedge walked up to the Millennium Falcon where Leia was helping Lando and Chewie prepare the ship. Wedge and Lando had finally been able to convince Leia that her place was not on the Millenium Falcon. Back in the days of the Rebellion, they had needed as many people as possible, but now her presence was not necessary. Her position in the New Republic government was far too valuablle to have her risk her life in battle. Lando had also managed to convince her, without insulting her skill as a gunner, that he could find an adequate replacement for her on the Falcon.

Though they had convinced her that her presence on the Falcon wasn't needed, they couldn't keep her from helping them prepare her husband's ship. "Leia," Wedge said, pulling her away from her work, "the Hapans have jumped in. I thought you might want to be there when we speak."

Leia nodded. "Thanks Wedge. Let me get cleaned up, and I'll be there in a second."

A few minutes later Leia was standing next to Wedge looking out of the window at the large fleet of Battle Dragons and Star Destroyers. The number of Imperial ships that the Hapans had been able to capture over the years impressed Wedge. Over half of the ships the Hapans had brought were Imperial made. Wedge had made sure that the few Star Destroyers the New Republic owned had come along, but now they were much better equipped.

As good as the many Star Destroyers were, and as much as they helped Wedge's battle plan, he was much more appreciative of the 20-some Hapan Battle Dragons that had joined the fleet. The rust-colored disk-shaped ships were known throughout the galaxy as some of the most powerful. It was these ships' reputation that had allowed the Hapan cluster to remain safe from smugglers and thieves over the years.

"Sir, the Hapan fleet is sending a message."

Wedge turned to the officer who had spoke. "We'll receive it in my office."

Leia and Wedge moved into his office just off the bridge. They stood in front of the computer on his desk to receive the call. Leia was quite surprised to find Tenel Ka on the other end. She was also happy to see that the young leader was wearing her lightsaber.

Wedge dispensed with the pleasantries and got down to business. He sent her all of the battle information and they wished each other luck. After the transmission ended Lando looked at Leia. "I don't know if I like having someone that young in control of the fleet."

"Trust me, Admiral," Leia reassured him, "the Hapans are in good hands."

***

Danzig 1 was huge. No, it was bigger than huge; it was gigantic. It was the biggest star in the entire Danzig system, and, for that matter, the biggest star in all the Core systems. It was the only known star that actually had other suns as satellites.

The Danzig system was devoid of planets. The sheer number of stars and relative closeness of them didn't allow any atmosphere to survive. If ever there had been a planet in the Danzig system, it had been burned into an asteroid and rendered lifeless many eons ago. Because of this, most of the stars stood alone. Some had a few asteroids orbiting around them, but these orbital patterns were not stable, and the asteroids would often jump from one star to another.

Danzig 1 was different. Danzig 1 had five other stars in a constant orbit. Danzig 2-6 (in order of orbits) were among the smallest stars known in the galaxy. Danzig 6, the smallest of the five stars, was only slightly bigger than an average planet.

This phenomenon was stable, but at the same time, very fragile. It was nothing that the Empire was concerned about, however. In order to alter the course of an orbiting planet, a super weapon had to be used. The Imperials didn't think that even a Death Star would be able to affect a gaseous body, even if it was in a delicate situation. Though the Empire was correct in thinking that it would take an incredible amount of force to change the orbital pattern of a star, they didn't quite appreciate the significance of the orbiting stars.

Stars, even small ones, produce enormous gravity wells. When an object orbits a sun, it gets caught in the outer rings of this well. Every mass creates its own gravity field and the sun's well has to be great enough that, at the distance of the orbit, its own well is greater than that of the satellite. If it is too much greater, the satellite will decay in orbit and if it is too weak, the satellite will fly off on its own. A sun's density is so much greater than that of a planet, that in the Danzig 1 arrangement there was a lot less room for error. In order to orbit another star not only does the central star have to be producing an incredible gravity well, but also each of the orbiting stars has to be in exactly the correct orbiting distance. Even the smallest change in the orbiting distance or velocity, will change the orbiting pattern exponentially.

None of these facts were even remotely considered by the Empire while it prepared for the coming of the New Republic fleet.

****

Chapter 30 "The Dark Ring" (Part I)

Commander Skeener paced impatiently on the bridge of the third quadrant of the Dark Ring. The third quadrant was starting to rotate out of position, and he thought that he would soon have to move to the fourth quadrant. He had met with all of the military leaders and Thrawn just a few hours ago. Thrawn hadn't been there in person, but he had done most of the talking. There were plenty of strategies that were discussed and as usual, Thrawn had dissected the battle plan to pieces.

Skeener had come to a similar conclusion as Thrawn though not identical. The "front" of the Dark Ring had been decided as the section that was facing New Republic space. The front was the obvious place for the New Republic fleet to jump in, being the closest one to their space. It was for that simple reason that Thrawn, and Skeener, had thought that the New Republic would jump in at the rear of the Dark Ring. Skeener had thought that the New Republic would jump part of its fleet in at the front, try to draw all of the ships and fire power in that direction, and then jump the rest in at the back.

Thrawn disagreed. He had taken that thinking one step further. With jumping in at the rear being the ploy in this battle, the strategy that Skeener suggested was the most obvious, Thrawn dismissed it. He suggested that the New Republic would jump in immediately at the rear. Skeener thought that this would destroy their surprise attack completely, using their trick right away.

Thrawn carried his idea one step further saying that the defense the Dark Ring would have ideally for the New Republic would be one ready for the trick of the rear entrance, but expecting a front one. The Empire would then be forced to scramble around back to fortify the few ships that they had left in the rear to prevent the "trick." Skeener had made the connection immediately. That would leave the front open for attack.

Skeener was no longer in the rear of the Dark Ring. For the past twelve hours he had been moving from quadrant to quadrant, always trying to keep himself in the rear where most of the ships were. Skeener moved to a turbolift that whisked him to the fourth quadrant. He began thinking about the upcoming battle and the hopeless situation that the New Republic was facing. Surely even the largest fleet couldn't stand up to the Dark Ring, but the Empire had most of its fleet here as well. Skeener ran through the list of fleet commanders in his head: General Oskiman, Captain Sanson, Commander Snotzenexer, Commander Qwi'tek, and many more. All of them were exceptional leaders. Skeener was beginning to wonder if the Empire even needed the Dark Ring. He doubted that the New Republic stood a chance against the fleet alone.

In his movement through the Dark Ring, Skeener bumped into the two Salynoids. He could tell that they were exited. This was mainly their creation, and it was the Dark Ring's first real test. They recognized Skeener as the commander of the station, saluted him, and kept going on their furious checking of the systems.

Skeener walked onto the bridge of the fourth quadrant just as the New Republic ships jumped in.

***

Calamari Cruisers were the first to jump in, followed by the carriers, which were quick to unload their fighters, and finally the smaller Frigates and Corvettes. The smaller ships moved into flanking position and the fighters sped ahead, eager to engage the enemy. For all of the New Republic pilots, this was the first time they had ever seen the Dark Ring and many were hesitant to continue the battle. Even Wedge, who had tried to prepare himself for the mechanical monstrosity that they were going to be facing, felt a little queasy at the sight of the wall in space. This was way bigger than any Death Star that he could possibly imagine.

Wedge thought of their plan to use the Sun Crusher torpedo on the Dark Ring and was glad for that plan. He had studied the plans for the Dark Ring, as had all the generals, and he had come up with no flaw in the design. To be honest, it didn't appear to be related to any other Imperial device he had ever seen before.

The Empire tended to make things big, but foolish. Everything had an obvious flaw in it. Star Destroyers had their shield generators located in plain sight and very accessible. Wedge had never understood the reason that this obvious design flaw wasn't ever remedied. The Calamarian Cruisers' shield generators were tucked away neatly behind the large engines, feeding off the same fusion reactor.

TIE fighters though fast and nimble had absolutely no shields to speak of. One well-aimed shot from a New Republic fighter could take one down. Even the A-wing fighter, the New Republic's weakest, was equipped with shields able to absorb several bolts before failure.

Of course there was the obvious exhaust port fiasco with the first Death Star, and while the second Death Star had no obvious flaw other than its incompletion, it had been taken out by only a few shots. This battle station had no central power source to aim at, other than the sun. And that sun was producing enough energy to sustain its particle shields with out the aid of a planet below. The Dark Ring had a strong energy shield too, but Wedge had reasoned from the blueprints that they wouldn't be able to keep the shield up and fire their Death Star lasers at the same time.

Their battle plan was the same as it had always been: distract the enemy while the true strike force attacks the main power source. Wedge looked at his chronometer. It would be another two minutes before the Hapans and the rest of the fleet jumped in on the other side of the Dark Ring, and then another five minutes before Lando and the 185th were due. Seven minutes. It wasn't that long under normal circumstances, but in war, with people dying all around you, each second dragged on for an hour.

Wedge checked out the scene before him. Not a shot had been fired yet, but as the X-wings and E-wings sped towards the Star Destroyers, Wedge knew that that was going to change.

***

Oskiman looked out at the New Republic fleet from his vantagepoint aboard the Doomsday Hammer. He was surrounded by his best military leaders, all aboard Imperial Star Destroyers. He watched as the cluster of New Republic fighters met the incoming swarm of TIE fighters. They met like opposing water waves, causing massive destructive interference. The New Republic capitol ships were still out of range of the Star Destroyers, but Oskiman knew that the Dark Ring had a rather impressive range.

As the capitol ships began to form a strategic ring, Oskiman scrutinized the band of ships that came to attack. He was impressed with their fleet size. The Empire had a large information net and had just engaged the New Republic in several skirmishes, so they had a good idea of how many ships they had. The number in front of him matched the estimated number, and Oskiman smiled at their wealth of knowledge on the enemy.

Oskiman was curious, though, about the make-up of the fleet. To his knowledge, the New Republic had captured several older Star Destroyers, but they were no where to be found amongst the New Republic's fleet. Oskiman smiled again when he realized when they'd show up. He had at first thought as Skeener had, that they would use this "back door" as a counter attack, or a trick, not, as Thrawn had suggested, as their main means of attack. It was only Thrawn's strategy that had placed as many ships behind the station as there were. If it weren't for their foreknowledge, they would likely be scrambling right now to try to bring the fleet around the huge Dark Ring from the front.

Oskiman was very pleased with the situation. He almost laughed out loud at what he knew must be going through the minds of the New Republic leaders. The Imperial fleet behind the Dark Ring was actually smaller in size than the New Republic's, but as far as total ship strength went, the Empire had the distinct advantage. The leaders of the attacking fleet likely thought that they had successfully lured the whole Imperial fleet away from the front, when in actuality, Captain Sanson and Commander Snotzenexer waited on the other side with the Empire's other Super Star Destroyer and almost as many Imperial and Victory class Destroyers.

***

Wedge watched the flanking procedure of the Imperial fleet curiously. He tried to figure out the logic of their maneuvers. Instead of remaining between the New Republic fleet and the Dark Ring, the Imperials were moving into a large ring, almost creating a bull's eye for the enemy to shoot on. All of Wedge's questions disappeared when, from the middle of the bull's eye, the Dark Ring fired, vaporizing two Calamarian Cruisers and one Frigate instantly.

***

Skeener waited patiently as General Oskiman moved his ships out of the way, clearing an alley for the Dark Ring to fire. As soon as the circle had grown large enough to give three super lasers open range, Skeener gave the order to fire at will. He watched eagerly as the three lasers lanced out, instantly vaporizing the puny ships in the New Republic fleet.

Because the Dark Ring collected its power from solar panels, it took a very large area of the inefficient panels to power a Death Star laser. A lot of the energy was stored in huge batteries, but all of the energy could not be drawn from a battery at once or it would overload. It took about fifty square kilometers of solar panels to fire one super laser, this seemed large at first, but it was less than a millionth of a percent of the total area on the inside of the Dark Ring.

Because of this incredible accumulation of energy over a very large area, it took about 20 seconds to fire again from any specific laser orifice. Skeener had the computer on the Dark Ring calculate the area the New Republic covered and the amount of super lasers that would be in range. Skeener was very please to see the number 7 appear brightly on his screen. Once the Imperial fleet got out of the way he would be able to take out 21 ships a minute.

Skeener was a little mad that these were not his orders. He was only supposed to take occasional pot shots, killing no more than a few a minute. Oskiman had insisted that the fleet needed more practice against live targets. Skeener shrugged in frustration. Oh well, he thought, only a "few" a minute. Skeener smiled as he thought of a very loose translation of the word "few." He gave the order to fire again, this time from four super lasers.

***

Snotzenexer waited patiently on the other side of the Dark Ring. He had been the only person who had initially agreed with Thrawn's evaluation of the situation, and so he had been the only one who had volunteered to sit and wait for the fleet. He had just gotten the report from the other side of the Dark Ring that the first part of the fleet had jumped in. The Dark Ring blocked all communication between the fleets, and everything had to be relayed through the Dark Ring. This caused for a slight time delay, but it was a minor inconvenience.

Snotzenexer scanned the list of ships that were being reported. Absent from the list, as he had suspected, were the Imperial ships that he knew the New Republic had captured. The New Republic was trying to make it look as real as possible that this first fleet was their entire attack.

Sanson walked up behind him to read the information for herself. This situation had been odd for the fleet. Sanson had the rank of captain, just below General Oskiman. Snotzenexer, although he only had the rank of commander, had always been thought as the next in command to Oskiman. Sanson had willingly joined Snotzenexer on this fleet assignment.

Many of the Imperials were a bit skeptical as to the reason for her willingness to serve under a lower ranking officer. It wouldn't have been that odd for anyone else - there were several other captains who could have served under him - because Snotzenexer was very well respected, but Sanson was definitely the most defiantly independent officer. Of course many people had a different idea entirely as to why Sanson had accepted Snotzenexer's invitation.

Rumors had been generated over the past few months about a relationship between the two successful military officers. These rumors had never been confirmed or denied. Nobody feared what Snotzenexer would do if people started talking. The shy genius wasn't very aggressive, and nothing seemed to bother him. But Sanson was likely to rip the larynx out of anyone who so much as hinted about such a relationship. Only Tallon knew the truth, and he wasn't going to tell anyone.

Sanson patted Snotzenexer gently on the butt as she approached her commanding officer from behind. She glanced over her shoulder at the underlings huddled around the computer consoles, daring anyone who had seen her sly movement to start whispering. No one did.

"Yes, dear?" Snotzenexer asked, guessing that none of his male officers would be bold enough to slap his rear.

"What have we got?"

"It appears that the New Republic is indeed using the strategy that we predicted. The rest of the fleet should be jumping in shortly. Though I don't believe it will be very big." Snotzenexer did the math in his head. "The remaining ships in the New Republic's possession consist of Imperial ships they have stolen and number fewer than fifteen. Unless . . ." a thought crept into his head. He knew about Laya and her lack of communication over the past few weeks. It was possible that Laya had been put out of commission, and if the Hapans knew about the Empire's role in her actions, then it was possible that . . . The second New Republic fleet jumped in and confirmed Snotzenexer's fears.

Sanson and Snotzenexer watched as the Star Destroyers and Hapan Battle Dragons organized themselves into an attack formation. Snotzenexer didn't know if Sanson knew what the saucer-shaped ships were, or who they belonged to. Snotzenexer was hesitant to tell her that they belonged to the Hapans and that this unexpected alliance probably sprung up because of the Laya incident, which he wasn't sure if she knew about either. He didn't want to sound insulting. If Sanson already knew what they were, she might not feel pleased about being made to look like an uninformed officer. If she didn't know, she probably wouldn't stoop to ask, but would like to be informed just the same.

Snotzenexer turned to face her, but she spoke first. "Enlarge one of the Battle Dragons." Without a word, Snotzenexer moved over to a computer, brought one of the saucer ships up on the screen, and enlarged it. "See those small slots on the rim of the ships?" she asked, pointing to the screen.

Snotzenexer zoomed in a little closer and confirmed her observation. "Those slots are for space mining probes. They're used to mine hyperspace to create a temporary interdiction zone. It's not likely that they will use them, because it would be pointless to trap an immobile station in space, so they'd only be hurting themselves. The probes themselves are highly explosive. Tell your fleet to target the slots, but only the fighters will be able to get close enough. The Hapans are advanced technologically and have developed a cloaking device against large weapon locks."

Snotzenexer realized that there was a good chance Sanson did indeed know what the saucer ships were. He took this in stride. He was not offended that she had given him what sounded like a direct command. After all, she did out-rank him. "It would be pointless then for the Dark Ring to target them." It was more of a statement than a question. Snotzenexer turned to his bridge crew and relayed the information to all of the fighters. He then contacted the Dark Ring and told them to concentrate fire upon the Star Destroyers.

Snotzenexer had already moved his fleet into a ring by guessing, and guessing correctly, where the incoming fleet would jump in. The front side of the Dark Ring had the same orders as Skeener and the backside of the battle station had: Don't take out too many ships, but let the fleet have some practice. Snotzenexer watched as the Dark Ring took out two Victory class Star Destroyers belongong to the New Republic. He noticed that the fleet of Star Destroyers was quite substantial. He would have to read the history of the Imperial involvement with the Hapans. They had way to many Imperial ships.

Snotzenexer waited for the Dark Ring to fire again, and then remembered Oskiman's orders. The man was a fool, Snotzenexer thought. He meant to give the New Republic a chance by letting them tackle the fleet instead of the Dark Ring. A compassionate Imperial leader should never have made it to the rank of General. Snotzenexer understood Oskiman's intentions and knew that they were far from compassionate. The idea of giving the fleet practice during a crucial battle was an error. No matter what advantage you had over an enemy, if you held them in contempt by saying that you don't have to try your hardest to beat them, then you will lose. If you stop trying, it makes the enemy try all the harder, and they will gain the edge.

Snotzenexer did not wish to buck the orders. He had no intention of getting a court marshal over a matter that in the final out come, probably wouldn't matter. It wasn't okay to take this risk, but they weren't quite walking across a tight rope without a net. Snotzenexer knew that the Dark Ring was just about the biggest net you could find anywhere.

While Snotzenexer had been contemplating these things in front of a monitor, Sanson had moved down amongst the crew ordering the targeting assignments for the entire fleet. Snotzenexer admired her technical knowledge and appreciated her help more than he disliked her over stepping her bounds.

Sanson knew all about the old Star Destroyers they were attacking. She told the fleet that the weak spots on the shield towers weren't the globes themselves, but the supports holding the globes, in particular, the central power cable. She explained where the weak spots were on the hanger doors, and once the doors were gone, where they should fire torpedoes to get the best chain reaction. She explained that toward the back of the Victory class Destroyers there was a small oxygen intake valve used during inner-atmosphere travel. There was a door closed over it during space travel, but if taken out with lasers, a well-aimed torpedo could enter the valve and travel straight to the main fusion reactor. She explained where the thinnest parts of the Battle Dragons' hull were and which ion cannons were routed directly through the main reactor and which ones ran off separate batteries. She also recognized some of the Imperial class Destroyers as an older type of ship that had been discontinued for some over looked flaws. She explained how a few well aimed ion shots at the forward sensor arrays could short circuit the entire system of long range scanners and scramble their targeting system for a few minutes.

Snotzenexer listened to her rattle off strategy after strategy, becoming more and more impressed with her knowledge every passing moment. In simulations, she had come the closest to beating him in a fleet battle, which is to say at the end of the battle she was only outnumbered four to one. Snotzenexer understood his supremacy in fleet command, but also knew all about Sanson's strengths.

Snotzenexer moved down off of the elevated command section of the bridge and began to coordinate the fleet beside his fiancé.

****

Chapter 31 "The Dark Ring" (Part II)

Lando checked the hyperspace chronometer for the sixth time in the past seven seconds. He was fidgeting with the controls involuntarily. Chewie barked at him again to calm down, but the reality of what he was going to do started to nag at him. He was going to blow up a star and kill over a billion people.

Lando had felt similar feelings after the battle of Endor, when he realized that Luke had just gotten off the Death Star in time. When he thought about it, his mind raced through all of the people that didn't make it out and had died a fiery death. Lando had a long conversation with Luke about it later. Luke hadn't justified the death of all the Imperials. He reminded Lando that he had killed just as many in the first Death Star. The only comfort the Jedi could give was that they had to choose the lesser of two evils. Killing a billion now would save trillions later. Luke had also launched into a sermon on preserving the Light Side of the Force. Lando hadn't paid too much attention at the time, but now, with all of his experiences with Jedi, he understood better what Luke was talking about. Everyone had a presence in the Force, even non-Force strong individuals. In order for history to continue in good instead of evil, the Dark Side had to be defeated or, in many cases, killed. Lando understood that this battle, on the surface, simply looked like a battle between two empires struggling for power, but it was really Light versus Dark. This battle had larger ramifications than Lando could accurately discern, but he knew that a loss here, failing to blow up the Dark Ring, would lead to very Dark times.

Lando swallowed down a lump that had been forming in his throat. He looked again at the chronometer. There was one minute left until they jumped in. Lando yelled back at the passengers to buckle up. Land had picked up two young fighter pilots who's ships were inoperative. Lando would rather have people he knew and trusted to fire the Falcon's guns, but he had been assured that Haivven and Bremmy were excelent marksmen.

"Is the cloaking device working properly?" Lando asked his copilot. Chewie barked an affirmative. At the last second, Lando had decided to attach the device that they had "borrowed" from the Imperial crystal mine. He knew that it wouldn't work in the radiation they would be flying through, but he didn't think they'd be in the radiation all the time.

Lando watched the countdown descend from thirty. He hovered his hand over the hyperspace lever. His hand started to shake from nervousness, and he dropped his hand down onto the lever to control the shaking. Sweat began to bead up on his forehead. His voice cracked slightly when he told Chewie to get ready. Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, . . . He looked back over his shoulder to make sure that the two passengers where secured. He had never jumped into heavy solar radiation before and didn't now what kind of turbulence they'd experience.

He turned to look back at the countdown and the ship shook violently. Thoughts of pure horror began running through his mind. Had the nav computer miscalculated their jump? Where they flying through the sun, or worse, the Dark Ring in hyperspace. Suddenly the star lines disappeared and they were back in normal space. Lando looked down at his hand and saw that he still had the lever in the hyperspace position. The chronometer was just now ticking down to zero.

"An interdiction field!" Lando yelled. Chewie roared in agreement. They and the three W-wings were still a ways away from the Dark Ring, and they weren't hidden in the radiation field. "Chewie," Lando called, "we have a blown hyperspace fuse. We're going to need to make a fast get-a-way pretty soon and it needs to be fixed. Haivven and Bremmy we need people at the turret guns. The Imperials know we're here." Chewie barked at him. "Right! Of course, I forgot." Lando reached over and activated the cloaking device.

***

Skeener received word that the second fleet had jumped in. His orders were clear: Activate the interdiction as soon as all of the enemy ships had jumped in. Skeener planned on waiting a few minutes yet. He didn't think that the New Republic actually expected to pull off a victory with just these two fleets, they had to have something else up their sleeve. If it was another fleet, he wanted to trap it too. If it was a secret weapon, he wanted to keep it out.

It was now almost five minutes since the second New Republic fleet had jumped in, and Skeener was getting anxious. "Activate the interdiction field and lock it," Skeener gave the order. The Salynoids had built a locking mechanism so that if an attacking fleet managed to take out a section of the Dark Ring, the interdiction field wouldn't go out. Normally all extra-curricular activities would be shut down, in a structural break down, but now the interdiction field was on for good until deactivated from the control room.

As soon as the interdiction field went up four blips appeared on the radar. Skeener saw them. "What do we have here," he said to himself. His timing couldn't have been better. He wanted to make sure that all of the ships could join the party. "How far away are the four new comers?" Skeener asked his officers.

"They are within gun range, sir," the officer replied, knowing why Skeener had asked. The four new ships had jumped in above the hole in the north pole of the station where the only Dark Ring guns were on the rim of the hole. If they were too close, the angle of fire would be too great, and they would be out of range. Also they would be in the radiation storm. "Do you wish to fire on them, sir?"

Skeener didn't know what the ships were doing there, but he knew they didn't pose much of a threat. At the angle from which they were approaching, they wouldn't be able to target any vital systems, save perhaps the most vital of all - the sun. Skeener laughed to himself at the idea of the small fighters trying to load the sun with laser fire. He finally decided that the angle of their approach was due to the fact that it kept them out of range of the Death Star lasers. "If they're not bold enough to challenge us directly, we won't honor their presence. Inform the fleets, however."

***

General Oskiman looked down at the message that was being relayed to his command post. He had noticed the ships when they had popped on the radar a few moments ago, but had yet to recognize their presence. The report from the Dark Ring told him that Skeener was going to ignore them. Oskiman looked out at the fleet battle in which he was engaged. He didn't have time to chase after four fighters that couldn't even jump in at the right coordinates. If they were to incompetent to follow the rest of the fleet, then they didn't deserve his attention.

***

Snotzenexer didn't bother to read the report. Sanson was bent over the screen, and Snotzenexer watched her for her reaction. Snotzenexer knew that he was advanced in IQ far above the rest of the imperial commanders, he had idolized Thrawn when he was growing up, and like him he tried not to let his style become cocky or arrogant. He had noticed the ships of course, and this message could only concern them, as nothing else of any significance had happened. He also knew what everyone else must be thinking because it was what had first flashed through his mind. Sanson nodded to herself after she had finished reading the message, and Snotzenexer was disappointed that she agreed with the idea that these new fighters presented no threat.

"How many TIE squadrons should we deploy to engage them?" Snotzenexer asked her as she turned to let him read the message. "Five? Seven?"

Sanson wasn't surprised at the fact that Snotzenexer knew what the message had said without reading it. He had done a lot more impressive things than that before. She was surprised however, that he thought these ships needed their attention. "You don't share the idea that these ships are harmless."

"Why should they be?" Snotzenexer queried, wanting to hear her reasoning.

"They obviously erred in their jump and came out of hyperspace not only late, but in the wrong area."

"It does look obvious, doesn't it. Maybe they planned it that way." Sanson knew what he was getting at. He and Thrawn always put themselves in the enemy's shoes, taking the thinking process one step further. "Did you happen to look at their radar signatures."

"They don't mean anything to me," Sanson said, getting impatient. Now was not the time for a strategy lesson.

"I have committed several of the New Republic's ships' radar signatures to memory. The larger fighter is the Millennium Falcon and the three small fighters are of the same design as those that attacked Commander Qwi'tek during your Gensiffery attack. I'm sure you know all about the Falcon, and Qwi'tek told you about the proficiency of the three smaller fighters that single handily defeated his fleet."

"We have no reason to believe that anyone of importance is at the cockpit of the Falcon, and you can't tell if they are the same fighters that attacked us at Gensiffery."

"We also have no reason to believe that they aren't the same ones. The one thing that the Empire has to learn about fighting, is never underestimate the enemy."

"What could they do from the angle which they are flying?"

"We don't know anything about the fighters, and the Falcon is constantly being upgraded. It is possible that they have developed some kind of shielding that would allow them to fly inside of the Dark Ring amongst the radiation. They could have a new kind of explosive weapon that they wish to attach to the inside of the battle station. What ever they plan on doing, I don't think that they just accidentally fell out of hyperspace at the wrong time. Also remember that they were yanked out of hyperspace by the interdiction field. They could have been headed somewhere else."

"If that is the case," Sanson responded, "I suggest that we should deploy no less than ten squadrons to intercept them."

"Consider it done. They were sent while you were reading the report."

Sanson gave him a cross look for going behind her back, but it changed into a smile at the sly way he had gotten her to agree with his already made decision.

***

Thrawn paced his office methodically. He had had the interior of his office filled with a plethora of plants and small trees, that made up an accurate representation of the decorative plants that were in the palace on Coruscant. His habit of collecting the art work of his enemy, had met a small road block when confronted with the New Republic. They didn't have any prolific artist, and weren't much for decoration. Thrawn had, as Snotzenexer had, at first looked past the plants, but now he realized that these plants better described the mind set of the New Republic, than anything else could have.

He looked at the Fraynion powel shoots. They were a colorful bunch of reeds that grew from seed to a full grown cluster in a mater of weeks. Thrawn remembered how quickly the New Republic had sprouted up and grown into maturity.

Thrawn walked next past the Corellion amber tree. This was still a young tree, and it stood alone in its large clay pot, but Thrawn knew what it was like in the wild. It was a strong sturdy tree. When it reached adult hood its branches would latch onto the branches of surrounding trees. Unlike a parasite vine, when the amber tree latched on to another tree, it supported it and fed it nutrients. Together, both trees would grow stronger, and then they would branch out again. The direct relation to the New Republic was too obvious for thoughts.

He next came to the Tatooine silver bud. This beautiful flower was naturally located in the hot desserts of Tatooine. At first he wasn't able to get the flower to grow in his office. He had imported the finest soil from many different worlds, but the flower kept dying. Thrawn wasn't a botanist, but he soon realized that the flower needed the parched sand to grow. With out the adverse conditions, the flower never reached its full potential. The New Republic also seemed like it flourished during bad times.

Thrawn finally stopped walking when he reached the Maltha ice vine. This plant was actually a weed. Although it was multicolored and somewhat attractive, it was still a weed. The New Republic had found it on the planet Maltha Obex before the Qella had returned. Thrawn's vine was mounted on an ice frame. There was metal tubing winding upward in a spiral on which the ice was kept frozen. The vine grew right out of the ice. The root structure was very visible inside the hardened, transparent water. There were few nutrients in the ice, and those that were there, were frozen in place. The New Republic scientists had claimed the phenomenon impossible, and some kind of Qella trick, but on further inspection, the vine was proven to be authentic. Since no one had returned to the Qella home world after they had returned fifteen years ago, the plant was very rare and expensive. Thrawn had found that cloning was much cheaper.

He stared at this vine for a long time. He seemed mesmerized by the contrasting of colors. The red roots, the dark green stem, and the bright, almost florescent, green leaves glowed when intertwined around the crystallized water. This plant demonstrated the part of the New Republic that worried Thrawn the most and the one that he was considering now. It was impossible for a rag tag bunch of fighters to defeat a fully operational Death Star. And it was just as unlikely to find a plant that grows out of ice as it was to find a ground force, out numbered ten to one, that could defeat the enemy to bring down a shield generator, and allow a fleet of ships, out numbered fifteen to one, to attack and defeat a deadly battle station.

Could the New Republic win today at Danzig 359? Their chances were less than one in a million. Thrawn looked again at the ice vine. What was its possibility of existence? Biologically this vine was an impossibility, but it was right in front of him.

Thrawn didn't feel like he had all of the facts he needed to make the connection he was looking for. He went over to his desk and flipped on his computer. He began scrolling through all of the information of the past few weeks while he thought about the battle going on right now. The information flowed past him and he tried to collect it all. His great intellect allowed him to grab all of the bits of information, twirl them around in his mind, examine them from all sides, seeing every angle of possibilities, and comparing them to the battle. Information about the recent fleet attacks flowed up the screen, as did information about the attack on Yavin IV, the attack at the crystal mine, the failed terrorism of Laya, and the first clash at the Dark Ring with the small New Republic fleet.

As the information of the crystal mine flowed past him, he paused it and requested the complete history of the outpost. He examined each name, each date, and every little detail that might be a clue. His mind ran into the one possible means of defeat in the battle just as his eyes rested on the name Qui Xux. As before the New Republic had always targeted the power source of the stations, in this case the sun. There was only one known weapon that could destroy a sun and Qui Xux had designed it. All of the pieces were falling together. If the New Republic had a sun crusher torpedo then that would explain their apparent suicide run.

Thrawn reached over to his com switch and punched in the code for the Dark Ring. He waited the few seconds that it took for the hyperspace signal to reach the station, but after a minute, Thrawn realized that they must have already activated the interdiction field. Thrawn was too late!

The admiral was known for his cool demeanor, but now his temper flared quickly. How could he have over looked such an obvious situation? He looked over at the Maltha ice vine. It seemed to sneer at him, defying the odds the way it did. Thrawn tried to gather some relief with the knowledge that Snotzenexer was out there with the fleet. Compared to the Commander, the rest of the officers were morons, but with Snotzenexer in command of one of the fleets, there was still hope. No, the New Republic would win again, they always did. He could make a stand here on the planet. He had the Jedi trapped on the planet. He could keep them here, and defend this planet from attack until the he could regroup. Tallon wasn't a genius, but he was better than Pellaeon had been. Thrawn thought back to the time he had fought the New Republic by roaming through space without a stationary base. He might have to do that again.

He got up from his desk, deciding to count the Dark Ring as a loss, and move on with the rest of his plan. He turned to leave and found the ice vine facing him. He thought he could hear it laughing at him. Thrawn allowed his anger to peek once more as he ripped the screen out of his desk and hurled it at the ice frame. The glass and ice shattered as the vine fell off the frame and lay amongst the ruins of its life source on the floor. Thrawn laughed to himself as he walked from the room.

****

Chapter 32 "The Dark Ring" (Part III)

"Fighters coming in!" Lando shouted over the Falcon's com.

"We see them," Haivven said from the ventral turret gun.

"Bats," Lando called, "are you still with us?"

"Copy that," Vince voiced back. "We'll plow the road."

The TIE's came in fast, but the 185th kept their squad leader's promise and evaporated the six leading fighters. Jon decided to keep a mental count instead of constantly flipping his counter. He did this for two reasons. Since they were in wide open space, he didn't have the luxury of ducking behind a capitol ship while he flipped the counter. Also he figured that with the sheer number of fighters that they were facing, his finger would get too tired.

All three fighters split up, encircling around the cloaked Falcon like bees swarming protectively around their queen. Haivven and Bremmy fired conservatively, not wanting to hit the W-wings, which were darting all over the place. Bep had designed the strategy that the W-wings were using. By linking the computers through the coms of each fighter, the complex navigational computer was able to weave the three fighters in a dizzying collage of spiraling twists and turns that left the enemy fighters in a quandary.

The TIE's were at a loss of how to track the unique fighters flying in a computer generated randomized pattern. The orderly trios of TIE fighters soon broke into a scrambled array of pods and solar panels as they tried to enter the fray of W-wings.

The Jon, Vince, and Bep weren't making many kills at all, only firing occasionally when a TIE happened to wander into their sights. However, once they agreed that the TIE's were effectively scrambled and out of their strong formation, Bep activated the derandomization program. The complex pattern began to alter slowly until, as if by magic, all three fighters pulled out of the pattern side by side. The three ace pilots resumed control of their ships and began to attack the TIE's.

The TIE's were badly out of position. Many had stopped all together to try to get a bead on the twirling crafts. Now they sat scattered all over the free space like stationary asteroids. The W-wings split up, attacking the scattered enemy ships, often finding the broad side of a stationary solar panel as their target.

The invisible Falcon had been totally forgotten, and it was allowed to continue its intercept course with the Dark Ring. The TIE's tried to regroup, but do to their cramped positions and slow speeds, their attempts simply put them in large groups making for easier targets. Jon shrieked with adrenaline as, in one pass, he was able to take out three TIE's who were trying to regroup into their traditional triangle formation.

Vince and Bep were up to their normal tricks, confusing the TIE's more than they already were. Jon found the fighting uninteresting and left to follow the Falcon.

Lando watched the fighters perform their tricks, glad that Wedge had assigned them to accompany him. He had brought the Dark Ring up on his targeting display. The missiles had locked on to the huge structure almost immediately, but he had no intention of firing the missiles desperately at the super structure. Instead, he simply used the targeting system to tabulate the distance between him and the colossus structure. The New Republic scientists had informed him what to expect when he got within three thousand kilometers of the orifice in the Dark Ring, and Lando planned to be ready for it. The targeting display told him that he was now five thousand kilometers away, and Lando could already feel the control of the Falcon begin to get a little edgy. The sensors started to fade as he went further into the radiation emission field, but he could see a small blip of his left side.

"Bremmy, I'm reading a fighter on our tail, can you confirm?"

"It's a friendly," he replied.

"Lando, thought I'd come along for the view," Jon said over the com. His voice began to break up, and Lando knew that they wouldn't be able to maintain radio communicate for much longer.

"Glad to have you, but it's going to get a bit rough, so hold on."

***

Wedge analyzed the battle and was pleased to see that they were holding their own against the Imperial fleet, but was more than a little distressed about the Dark Ring. It had fired only occasionally, with deadly accuracy. Wedge had been told by a group of scientists who had analyzed the plans for the Dark Ring that it would be capable of firing rather rapidly, but Wedge was yet to see proof of that. He wondered if the Empire was simply playing with them.

Wedge snapped his mind back into the battle and tried to find weaknesses in his enemy's formation. He saw two E-wings chase several TIE's into what Wedge could see was a trap. The TIE's lured the two ships in-between two Star Destroyers when four more TIE's appeared from behind the two Destroyers. Wedge cursed the fact that the doomed E-wing pilots couldn't have seen the trap from their vantage point, but he also saw a possible advantage to the unfortunate situation. Both Star Destroyers moved away from each other slightly to give the TIE's more room to work on the E-wings. Wedge contacted a Calamarian Cruiser that was near the front lines and had taken minimal damage and told it to punch that hole.

The Cruiser saw the hole and altered its course accordingly. The Destroyers saw the Calamarian Cruiser coming but didn't have enough time to close off the hole, and not wanting a collision with the large ship, they were force to make the hole bigger. The Cruiser hit the hole hard, causing sever damage to the side of one of the Destroyers. The hurt Star Destroyer was forced forward into the waiting guns of two more Calamarian Cruisers.

Wedge smiled as he waited for the outcome. It wasn't the outcome he had expected. The Dark Ring fired two direct hits on the waiting Calamarian Cruisers, evaporating both of them into fire balls. Wedge saw that this was much more than the loss of two ships. Now the injured Star Destroyer, with its forward velocity, could penetrate the New Republic's front line, while the lone Cruiser that had started the maneuver had lost its back-up and was now hopelessly surrounded by enemy ships.

The Dark Ring was watching the battle like a father watching his son play with a wolf cub. He allowed the child to tumble around with the dangerous animal, but as soon as the animal showed any teeth, the father jumped in to kill the wolf. Wedge frowned to himself, when had it ever been easy.

***

Tenel Ka was having a bit more success on her side of the Dark Ring. The super lasers weren't able to get a solid lock onto the Battle Dragons, so her ships were able to fight straight up with the Imperial fleet. Despite the fact that her ships were more advanced than the Imperial fleet, she found that she was being terribly out strategized. Her mother had sent Tenel Ka on this mission with full confidence in her skills as a military leader. That confidence had not been misplaced. The students at the Academy underwent military strategy training taught by Ackbar. Master Skywalker had had the foresight to realize that many of his students would be called upon to lead military forces simply because of their status as Jedi, and he didn't want them to be ill-prepared.

Tenel Ka examined her strategy again. It seemed flawless, except for the fact that the fleet she was facing seemed to expect her every move. At first she had laid out a strategy that was taught at the Academy, but she discarded it with the idea that any Imperial commander who had studied past battles, would pick up on her tactics immediately. Improvisation was the key, but it seemed that she was simply dancing to the tune of the Imperial commander she was facing.

Neither side was taking serious losses; however, almost all of the stolen Imperial ships had been destroyed by the Dark Ring. Tenel Ka understood her main priority was to keep the fleet occupied while the thrust of their attack commenced against the sun, but she didn't want to be cannon fodder either.

Oh, well, she thought after another advance had been thwarted, let's try another strategy.

***

Snotzenexer was holding back, waiting. He recognized the tactics of his enemy and was simply taking his time. He had sent two Imperial Star Destroyers after the Millennium Falcon and the three fighters after he saw that the W-wings had dispatched the TIE's easily. He was curious as to why Oskiman had not sent anything after the isolated enemy ships. Snotzenexer didn't try to figure out what the squat General was thinking, because normally he came to the conclusion that the question wasn't about what he was thinking, but if he was thinking at all.

Snotzenexer didn't want to commit to the battle with the Hapans totally because he wanted to keep an eye on the activity by the north pole of the Dark Ring. He figured that the two fleets that had jumped in were just a diversion.

Sanson walked up to Snotzenexer with a questioning look on her face. "It's the four fighters, isn't it?" He nodded. "If you're that concerned about them, why don't you send half of our fleet against them?"

Snotzenexer shook his head. "We can't let them know that we know their plan our they might turn desperate. Besides I still can't see what kind of strategy they could be applying, unless they plan to attack the Dark Ring from within. If that's the case, then they are poorly informed, because they'll never be able to navigate in the radiation storm. The solar wind will tear them apart." Snotzenexer looked out the window at the Hapans. He had just typed another message to some of his commanders and watched as the sly encircling tactic that a few Battle Dragons had been attempting was thwarted. "We'll just have to wait until they show their hand and then hope that they're bluffing."

***

The cloaking device finally gave out as they approached thirty-five hundred kilometers. Jon hadn't known how close he was to the Falcon, and backed off a few kilometers. Both ships were buffeted by the solar radiation as they flew still closer to the burning sun. Though the cloaking device was inoperable in the disturbance, both ships were invisible to all but the naked eye. However, both Vince and Bep were active and visible and now faced with dealing with two Imperial Star Destroyers armed to the teeth.

"Options?" Vince asked.

"Follow Jon into the radiation," Bep offered.

"Not an option," Vince replied. "Although they might be invisible to the Destroyer's weapon sensors, all the laws of probability that I know are telling me that the Imperials will get lucky with at least one shot, and our buddies' shields are at their limit right now. No, we're the distraction."

"You mean we're the meat they through at the banthas to keep 'em quiet," Bep corrected. "I don't like it."

"If I remember that trick correctly, there is usually poison in the meat."

This last comment awakened the fight in Bep. They had defeated bigger odds before, but it had never been just them. There had always been a fleet to divide the Imperials' attention. "Well they're almost here. I hope your lasers are powered up."

"Roger that."

"Let's get 'em!"

***

Lando was watching the targeting display and was growing concerned. They were now twenty-five hundred kilometers away. Lando didn't want to fire until he was at least fifteen hundred kilometers away. He knew that all he had to do was get the missile into the hole at the top of the Dark Ring, and Danzig 359's gravity would do the rest. He was afraid that if he shot too soon, the radiation interference would redirect the shot into the Dark Ring supper structure. Lando also knew that the interference was getting much worse than he had expected. It was tough to predict what the radiation would do, because nothing like the Dark Ring had ever been built before. Normally a sun can vent its furry over billions of square kilometers, but now that radiation was contained and only let out of two relatively small holes, magnifying it many times.

As Lando approached two thousand kilometers, he knew that if he went too much further, he wasn't going to be able to pull up before he followed the missile. Chewie, who had returned from fixing the hyperdrive, growled his concerns about the situation. "I know! I know!" Lando replied. "Just a little bit closer."

Chewie voiced his disagreement, adding a little more urgency. "OK, but you realize that this is our only chance." Chewie growled something about wishing to be alive to attend the victory party. "Bombs away!" Lando reached over and flipped a switch, opening the slot were the special sun crusher missile was located. Lando crossed his fingers and pressed the big red button.

The missile shot away from the Falcon at a great initial speed, but Lando immediately saw that the fuel storage compartment of the missile didn't hold enough propellant to fight against the radiation. Lando thought that the missile was probably designed to simply project itself toward the targeted sun and allowed the sun's gravity to do the rest. Normally a projectile in space will keep its speed without to much friction, but the missile buffeted in the radiation violently several times, and as Lando pulled the Falcon out of the disturbance, he had the sickening feeling that the missile was off target.

Jon had the same feeling, and he didn't pull out of the radiation, but stayed on course, chasing the wayward projectile. The super nova weapon had a huge lead on him, but his engines had better lasting power. By the time Jon caught up with the missile, he was only twelve hundred kilometers away from the Dark Ring. The missile had been thrown to the edge of the radiation, and it became obvious that it would crash into the super structure if Jon didn't do something about it.

Because the missile was near the edge of the radiation, Jon's sensors were coming back on line. He pulled his ship ahead of the missile so he was leading it slightly. He didn't know if his tractor beam could latch onto something as small as a missile or if it would hold on through the radiation, but it was his only option.

"Arnine," Jon said to his astromech droid mounted in the back, "I'll need your help on this one. You've got to tell me what's going on with the missile, OK." The R9 droid beeped a confirmation. Jon activated the tractor beam and waited a few anxious seconds before the R9 droid confirmed a successful catch. "OK," Jon said out loud, talking to himself as much as the droid, "I have to take it easy without to many sharp maneuvers or I'll loose the grip."

Jon was about a thousand kilometers away from the target now. The missile hadn't gone too far off course, and Jon figured that if he could get it in the center of the zone within five hundred kilometers, that it would stay on target.

Jon pulled the craft slowly back in line with the hole in the top of the Dark Ring. His droid kept him constantly informed of how far the missile lagged behind. When the distance got to big, Jon slowed a little to let the tractor beam reaffirm its weak grip.

When Jon reached the five hundred kilometer mark he came upon the grim realization that he was going to have to lead the missile the whole way in. All of Jon's past missions began flashing by in his mind. He had never really come that close to death before. He had been hit very few times, and those had only been glancing blows off his strong shields. He had never really considered death before, but if he went into the inside of the Dark Ring, he knew that his chances weren't too good for coming out.

Jon swallowed his fear an kept going forward. One hundred kilometers. Fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, ten, in. The inside of the Dark Ring was mesmerizing. Billions upon billions of solar panels, all glowing with blinding brightness.

Jon snapped out of his trance and let go of the missile. As he watched it head toward the sun, he realized that, at its present speed, it would take hours to reach the still distant sun. As if answering Jon's concern, the back of the missile lit up as its second stage thrusters kicked on. It must of had a reserve fuel tank that activated when it reached a certain proximity to the sun, Jon thought.

Now that he had gotten the super nova device to its destination, he had to get out of the Dark Ring. Jon pulled back on the flight stick, knowing that the one hundred eighty degree turn that he needed wasn't going to be possible. The shields were being pressed to their limit and about to overload. There just wasn't enough power to counter the maelstrom that existed inside the Dark Ring.

Jon managed to get his W-wing to complete ninety degrees of the turn and now faced a head on collision with the inside of the Dark Ring. Quick and painless, Jon thought and he increased his velocity. As he kept his futile attempt to pull out, he watched the distance between him and the inner wall of the Dark Ring fall beneath fifty kilometers. There was no way he was going to pull out in time.

Jon scanned his computer display as he counted down the seconds. He looked at the energy levels all pressed to their limits. The shields were about to short out. The engines were slowly loosing power, and they would cop out pretty soon, but Jon didn't think he was going to be around to notice. The laser batteries were long since drained since Jon had funneled all of the power into the shields and engines. There were still five green lights left on his display amidst all the red. Jon looked at the lights as another light slowly dawned in his mind. Torpedoes! He never bothered with the clumsy things in fighter to fighter combat, so he was still full.

Jon looked down at his proximity meter and saw that he had about fifteen kilometers left. He fired three of the torpedoes straight ahead and watched them explode against the solar panels. Jon slowed himself as much as possible, but could only pray that his torpedoes had opened a big enough hole for him. Oxygen flooded out of the hole as that small section of the Dark Ring decompressed. The out-flow of air helped to slow Jon's W-wing, but it also fed the flames of the explosions, so that Jon flew blindly into the ball of flame.

The few split seconds seemed like an eternity to Jon, as his ship flew into the hole. He expected to crash into the interior of the Dark Ring at any instant. He knew that the Imperials built their super weapons with a lot of space inside, and Jon hoped that that would help him out now.

The smoke cleared suddenly, and he found himself staring at a dead end less than a four hundred yards ahead of him. He thought he saw an opening downward and shoved the flight stick forward. The space below was extremely cramped, and it was only Jon's skill that kept him from crashing into each pipe and fixture that he shot passed.

Suddenly after a sharp maneuver that had squeezed him in-between two parallel pipes, he found himself inside a huge, straight tunnel. From what he could tell, the tunnel led in the direction of the outside surface of the Dark Ring. Jon had sudden sense of hope and throttled forward. As he flew down the multi-kilometer stretch, he looked down at his sensor display, noticing that the readouts were present once again now that he was out of the solar interference. He also noticed that he was picking up a huge power surge from behind him.

Jon watched curiously as the power surge grew astronomically. He had no idea what could cause that kind of power surge until he took a closer look at the tunnel he was in. He had looked at the specs of the Dark Ring before the mission and was aware of only one thing that could be this big. He was in one of the super laser tunnels, and it was about to fire!

Jon spared nothing to the engines. As he approached the end of the tunnel he saw that it wasn't open to space. He knew how the laser worked; Vince had told him. The main beam was split into several separate beams, each of the new beams was magnified, they were focused outside of the station to a point, and fired. Jon could see the large crystal that was used to split the beam ahead of him, and he knew that past the wall it was mounted on was open space.

Jon let go his last two torpedoes, and they exploded a huge hole in the thin wall. Jon ignored his sensor readouts that told him the weapon was firing, and focused on aiming his ship at the hole in the wall. The W-wing passed through the hole just as the laser hit the huge crystal. The hole Jon had made had shaken the entire section and had shifted the crystal's position slightly. The super laser was split into its component vectors, but because of the shift, the appropriate sensors did not pick up the components. Instead, the lasers tore through the tunnel walls surrounding the large focusing area. As Jon shot out of the hole, the entire section behind him exploded as the massive weapon misfired.

***

Lando had watched Jon toe the missile into the Dark Ring and had waited to see if his W-wing would reappear, hoping against hope that the ship was truly a superior vessel. He caught a glimpse of the small ship rocketing toward the inner wall of the Dark Ring, and then a large explosion engulfed the small fighter. Lando exhaled the breath he had been holding. War was a horrible thing. He knew that Jon had successfully guided the missile back on target, but he had been hoping to congratulate the courageous pilot afterward.

Lando reached for the com to inform the other W-wings of their partner's demise, when a huge explosion on the surface of the Dark Ring caught his attention. Lando stared transfixed at the sight of one of the Death Star lasers misfiring, wondering what could have caused it. He was about to chalk it up to poor Imperial engineering, when he spotted a small fighter flying just ahead of the explosion.

"He flew through the Dark Ring and out of a super laser tunnel!" Lando screamed. Chewie was no less impressed and said so. Lando continued his reach for the com, but signaled Jon instead. "You OK, buddy?"

"Never better," came Jon's nonchalant response, but Lando could hear the tension in his voice. "I just had to correct your horrible shot."

Lando wished he could sit there and chat with Jon all day, but he knew that the sun was about to go nova, and he wanted to be no where near it when it did.

***

Wedge was overjoyed to receive Lando's signal, being that his battle wasn't going well. He relayed the information to the rest of the fleet and ordered them to start calculating the hyperspace jump to the rendezvous point. They were going to have to cut it rather close because the interdiction field was still up. Wedge expected the interdiction field to collapse during the star's collapse and that should give them a window of a few minutes at least, probably much more, to jump out. Wedge wasn't sure exactly how fast the nova weapon worked. They had seen it work before, but this was a much smaller star than any of the others had been, plus it was confined inside a sphere, which might or might not affect it.

***

Tenel Ka was also glad to receive word that the task had been completed. She relayed the information to the rest of her fleet and waited.

***

Snotzenexer and Sanson watched the explosion on the surface of the Dark Ring, and neither of them missed the fighter flying away from the explosion.

"An interesting tactic," Sanson pointed out. "It would appear that the New Republic did indeed obtain the plans to the Dark Ring."

Snotzenexer looked at her as if she had grown another head. "Do you really believe that that is what the New Republic planned on?" It was the first time Snotzenexer had ever spoken to Sanson in contempt.

"What else?" she asked, knowing that she was about to be proven wrong. She had never known Snotzenexer to be wrong about anything.

"That type of strategy has kamikaze written all over it. To get through the Dark Ring's shielding through the top, enter the inside of the of the super structure by taking out the solar panels, weave through the infrastructure until you come to the firing tunnel, and then disorient the focusing crystal is a suicide mission. And I know from experience that when a pilot flies knowingly into a suicide mission, they make a point not to make it out alive. Besides, other than a pretty neat explosion, what did that attack give them. There are over one thousand super lasers scattered all over the Dark Ring, most of them located in the center of the station. Not only would the elimination of each, or more realistically, a few of the super lasers take an extraordinary amount of time, the success rate is almost incalculable. No, I believe that they are up to something else."

"But what?" Sanson asked, not thoroughly convinced. "Surely you don't think that they were attacking the sun. Why in order for that tactic to make any sense they would have to have a . . ."

They both looked at each other as they mentally finished Sanson's sentence.

****

Chapter 33 "Interlude"

Deep inside the core of Danzig 359, a bomb exploded.

****

Chapter 34 "The Dark Ring" (Part IV)

Borock and Thorock were busy studying the performance readouts of their creation when the power surge hit. The two Salynoids were very satisfied with the Dark Ring's performance thus far and were rather perplexed as to the cause of the sudden increase in power.

They quickly checked all of the systems on the station to see if anything had shut down. All appeared to be normal, yet the power surge continued to grow. The Salynoids were thoroughly perplexed as to what could be going wrong. They had designed the solar panels to be able to handle about one thousand times more energy than normal, knowing that stars were prone to violent solar flares, and they didn't want to have to repair panels and circuits each time Danzig 359 had a solar flare.

This wasn't a simple solar flare. The power readings were increasing everywhere, and the increase was much to uniform to be resulting from a chaotic solar flare. They had to be missing something. The two of them went to work frantically checking and rechecking everything.

In the command center Skeener was getting reports from all over the station about the power increase. "I don't want to hear about what it's doing, any more," he said to the latest report. "I want to hear how and why."

Meanwhile, the Salynoids were mesmerized by the power increase. The growth was far exceeding anything they had ever conceived when designing the station. The exponential growth kept climbing without any sign of slowing down. They were afraid to do anything with the solar panels, not knowing what reflecting that kind of power would do to the sun. They didn't dare disconnect the power systems, fearing that the immense power would explode the entire station if it had nowhere to go.

Skeener was pacing his command post when an explosion rocked the command center. He stopped his pacing suddenly. "What was that?"

"One of the batteries just overloaded, sir. We can't absorb this much power."

"Fire all weapons then. For crying out loud, we're in the middle of a war. If you can't find a productive use for a little extra energy, I'll find someone who can."

"Yes, sir."

Skeener returned to pacing but noticed that his left leg felt a little heavy. He flexed it slowly, trying to loosen the muscles that seemed to have stiffen. He tried to take another step and noticed that his right leg was stiff too. He bent over to grab his leg and noticed that his torso was also stiff. He tried to stand up, and it felt like he was wearing a very heavy backpack. "What's going on?!" he yelled. He looked around at his officers and noticed that they were struggling to against some unseen resistance as well. "I said, what's going on?!"

"It must be the interdiction field, sir. By routing the power through the offensive systems, as you requested, the interdiction field generator is producing an extreme amount of heavy space."

"Then turn the thing off!"

The officer reached over and pulled down on a large lever. Nothing happened. "It's still locked on, sir. The power surge must have fried the locking mechanism."

Skeener was finding it increasingly hard to move, and even his jaw muscle was stiff. "How much worse will . . . it . . . get?"

"Unnnknnoownnn . . . siiiir," the officer said straining to get out each word.

Skeener tried desperately to fight against the pull of the "heavy space," but his efforts were wasted against the much more powerful interdiction field.

***

On the New Republic ships they were experiencing the same thing. Wedge ordered all of ship commanders to have their hands poised over the hyperspace levers, realizing that their window might end up being shorter than expected.

***

Snotzenexer was still contemplating the idea that the New Republic might have a super nova weapon, when the interdiction field began to influence his ship. His mind raced through all of the possible causes and came up with one solution that fit all of the parameters. "Calculate a hyperspace jump to Hastrin," he ordered. No one questioned this odd order. Snotzenexer relayed this information to the rest of his ships just before total immobility hit.

***

All of the fighting broke off everywhere when the heavy space began to influence each ship. Vince and Bep were glad for the break in action, having faired fairly well despite the odds, but the stop in the fighting had probably saved their energy depleted ships.

Lando had just transferred the hyperspace coordinates to the three W-wings when he went immobile.

***

The huge Dark Ring fed off the energy of the collapsing star. The electrons of each individual atom began falling out of their outer shells and descending to the nucleus, giving off high-energy photons. The solar panels accepted these high-energy photons and transferred their energy into electrical power. The immense power was being fed into the interdiction field at an incredible rate. All of the power had been fed into the offensive systems, and while there had been an attempt to correct that error and all of the other offensive weapons were turned off, the interdiction lock had been welded into place.

The field grew in size and strength over the next few hours as the star continued to collapse. All of the ships remained motionless around the Dark Ring, as the normally fluid space became as solid as a brick. The size of the field extended far out into space. It was felt in some way throughout the entire Danzig system. It was especially felt by Danzig 6. The small star was just passing through the outer edge of its elliptical orbit when the heavy space began to surround the star.

The small star slowed down as the space around it began to thicken. It was caught right in the middle of a fierce tug of war. Danzig 1 was accelerating the small star normally, while Danzig 359, with the help of the Dark Ring, demanded that it stayed put. Danzig 6 was like a small stone in a sling shot, and the longer the tug of war went on, the further the elastic sling was pulled back.

Everything within range became totally motionless, frozen in space - almost everything. Danzig 359 was creating the power that ran the interdiction field. The Dark Ring obeyed the laws of thermodynamics, and thus didn't have one hundred percent efficiency. For that reason, Danzig 359 was always just a little bit ahead in the power struggle and was allowed to continue its collapse.

Danzig 359 was reaching the point of total collapse. The singularity that was being created had a near infinite density, and normal space was not used to such an immense property. Stability was quickly becoming a factor as the star continued to fall in on itself. Finally the shear weight of the singularity tore through the space time continuum, tearing the very fabric of existence and causing a dramatic explosion in every dimension.

Danzig 359 went nova.

The star had shrunk to a very small size, but now it expanded rapidly, sending a uniform shock wave out in all directions. The perfectly spherical shock wave met the perfectly centered Dark Ring all at once. The Dark Ring stood up against the shock wave much in the same way that a wet tissue stands up against a brick. Seventy-seven years of construction disappeared in a fraction of a second. The terrific force of nature obliterated the monstrosity.

As soon as the Dark Ring exploded, everything was released from its grip. Everywhere commanders stumbled forward as their momentum was suddenly returned to them. Men, who had been straining against the heavy space for the past few hours, found themselves suddenly free again, and they crashed into whatever they were near.

For General Oskiman and his men, this sudden freedom was short lived. The shock wave hit his impressive fleet of Star Destroyers, reducing them to space dust like a child kicking over a collection of sandcastles.

Wedge had warned his fleet to be ready, but the few seconds that they had to enter hyperspace once they were free, were not enough for some, and only about two thirds of the remaining ships made it into hyperspace ahead of the shock wave.

Snotzenexer had also warned his fleet, but his Super Star Destroyer was the only Imperial ship to escape. The Hapans had a one hundred percent success rate of escape, though none of the stolen Imperial ships made it.

Lando and the 185th also made it to hyperspace ahead of the shock wave, but they weren't headed the same way that the rest of the fleet was. They were following Snotzenexer to Hastrin.

***

Danzig 6 was suddenly freed from its stationary position, releasing the enormous potential energy that it had stored up. The star shot off into space, free from the orbit it had traced for the past eternity. It had now been turned into the largest comet in existence as it sped through space at one tenth of the speed of light.


	5. Part 5

****

Chapter 35 "Taking Leave"

The shuttle floated serenely through the void of space, portraying none of the uneasy tension that was stored inside it. Tallon watched from the shuttle's aft window as the Imperial class Star Destroyer loomed ever bigger before the small shuttle. He exhaled the breath he hadn't been aware he had been holding and then waited as the fog on the glass dissipated. Once again the Star Destroyer appeared before him, but he now saw it as his new home.

He had been, in no uncertain terms, banished from the planet below. With the banishment, came the removal of all of his previous command and authority. He was now to set up, monitor, and defend the planetary shield. Though Tallon's status as Captain had not been revoked, he knew that with Admiral Thrawn now active in the command of the Empire, he might as well be a Lieutenant. Tallon wouldn't be surprised if, on his return from the Dark Ring, Snotzenexer would be promoted past him.

The Dark Ring! In Tallon's last on screen conversation with the admiral, Thrawn had said that the Dark Ring was no more. Tallon had found that more than a little hard to believe, especially since at that time they had received no news what-so-ever on the battle. But now as that news had been delayed for more than a day, Tallon began to wonder. Surely the New Republic hadn't been able to defeat the Dark Ring. Maybe they just knocked out the communications. Then why hadn't any of the ships reported in?

Tallon heard a low humming noise and looked out the window to see the two lower fins on the shuttle folding up as the craft nimbly entered the shuttle bay. The shuttle settled itself down gently on its pilons and with a sharp release of hydraulic pressure, the ship relaxed its weight onto the deck of the landing bay. More hisses followed as the interior of the ship depressurized, matching the outside air pressure. Tallon was escorted to the descending ramp, and disembarked the ship to find a small greeting party.

Tallon eyed the Luitenant Commander suspiciously. He wondered how much this young officer knew about Tallon's placement aboard this ship. Normally the commander of an Imperial Star Destroyer would be required to literally bubble over with gratitude for having such an honored guest. However, if the Luitenant Commander knew that this was actually a demotion, he would be wise not to rub too much salt into Tallon's already festering wounds. "Welcome Captain Tallon," the officer said curtly. "If you follow me, I'll show you to the bridge."

The bridge was no different from any other Tallon had been on. In fact the bridge was identical to every other bridge he'd been on, right down to the officers manning their respective stations. With cloning as the means for manning the ships in their fleet, the Empire had found no need for being fancy. Every Imperial Star Destroyer had the exact same person at each station. It was a simple theory really. For each job there had to be one person who was more qualified than any one else, so it seamed foolish to place anyone else there. Since the Empire could clone with ease, the only problem was finding out what job each person was most qualified to do. In many cases, one person was the best an two or three different jobs, and as Tallon looked around the bridge he noticed that he had a few twins on board.

Tallon turned to the former commander of the ship. "Are the ships aligned in formation to generate the planetary shield?"

"Yes Captain."

"Contact all of the other ships and tell them to commence."

"Yes sir."

Deep inside the Imperial Star Destroyer, the main fusion reactor began to increase its steady pulse almost imperceptibly. It sent a strong pulse of energy up the back of the ship. The large power cable branched apart in the shape of a "Y" and sped two equal energy surges towards the twin force field generators sitting on the top of the huge space ship. The two globes began to pulsate on their own now, each one sending out its own field of transformed energy. Both of the generators also began receiving electronic information, requiring them to alter the configuration of the force shield they emanated. The coil inside each was shaped to send out an elongated, triangular shaped field, but now the coils began to flatten out. The field began to flatten like-wise. Soon the front of the ship was outside of the field. When the transformation became complete, the force field was shaped like a huge sheet centered on the generators. The sheet took on a slight spherical curve and began reaching out into space, expanding on its already enormous size. Soon the field came in contact with another field generated by a nearby ship. The two became one and soon joined with others. Exactly point three seconds after the fleet had activated the planetary shield, the entire planet of Hastrin was cloaked in a heavy particle shield.

The field was stretched outside of its normal limits, but because all of the ships were joined together, they could strengthen each other. Every third Star Destroyer was designated as a energy ship, and all of its weapons and extra systems were taken off line so it could put all of its available energy into the force field.

Tallon looked out into space at the invisible shield. He watched as small bits of space rock and debris that were caught in the planet's gravity well, accelerated into the field and exploded in small bursts of light. The Jedi wouldn't leave the planet.

***

Danzig 6 sped through space faster than the speed of heat. The small lifeless asteroids that lay in its path had no warning at all as to the suns approach. The normal immense heat that surrounds a sun was trailing in the unusual comet's tail. The asteroids were swept into the center of the sun and left charred and molten in the heat trail.

Danzig 6's course was sketchy at best. It wove from side to side as it slalomed through the many gravity wells in the Danzig system. It came perilously close once to falling into a particularly large star, Danzig 49. Only Danzig 6's inertia had allowed it to survive the gravity tug of war that had ensued between the two stars. The incredible pull that Danzig 6 had snapped between itself and Danzig 49 had caused Danzig 49 to recoil like a taunt rubber band. It became immensely elongated, lost all stability, and in the blink of an eye, went nova. The explosion only propelled Danzig 6 faster, giving it enough energy to escape the Danzig system completely.

Danzig 6 shot away from the system, leaving its former brotherhood of stars far behind. Its course and destination were unknown to it. All it knew was that anything in its path short of a black hole was doomed.

***

"I don't know if this is such a bright idea."

"Relax, Dad. No one's going to recognize us."

Han rubbed the thick beard that Luke had given him and looked at his daughter who had transformed her appearance to that of a young man in an Imperial uniform. Han and Jaina were sitting in the Arena watching two power boxers slug it out. Everyone around them was milling about, not really paying that much attention to the two men fighting to the death. Most people were there to watch the main event. Han and Jaina were no exception. They had been drawn to the Arena by the flashing advertisement on the outside: "Come watch Lowbacca win his twenty-seventh battle in a row as he takes on a Foyo Master." Jaina insisted that they try to fit in, and she had gone off to find a concession stand. She came back a few minutes later just as one of the boxers below knocked the head off his opponent's shoulders.

"Shouldn't we be ready to help Lowbacca if he gets into trouble?" Han asked as Jaina handed him a shiny wrapped specimen.

"You don't think that the Empire would let Lowbacca die do you? He's their champion. Besides, I've seen Lowbacca fight back on Yavin IV. I think he'll win."

Han shrugged, hoping his daughter was right as he unwrapped his "tasty morsel." The slender tube shaped piece of meat that he found inside was nestled snugly in a bun and covered with several condiments. Han's hesitant first bite tested the food carefully, but remembering that he hadn't had anything decent to eat in the past few weeks, helped him finish the hot dog in four bites.

The Arena below was a bustle of activity as clowns scurried about cleaning up after the last fight. Han could sense a feeling of good cheer in the way the clowns ran about their duties. He gathered that it was due to the fact that no animals were fighting tonight and their lives weren't in jeopardy.

The lights dimmed; the music started to play. "And now," the loudspeakers proclaimed, "the fight you've all been waiting for. First the challenger." The spotlight moved to the right side of the Arena to a parting curtain and an emerging figure. "Hyrink Freew has won all seven of his fights including defeating two corin hounds. His unique battle style has made him one of the most entertaining fighters at the Arena." Freew stood almost two meters. His arms and legs were thin but corded with muscles. He drew the two curved swords from his belt and swung them about in a dizzying display of swordsmanship. The spotlight left him and went to the other side of the huge building. "And our champion with a winning streak of twenty-six victories, from the forest world of Kashyyyk, LOOOOOWWWWBAACAAA!!" The Arena erupted with noise.

Lowbacca strode through the curtain into the spotlight. Jaina almost snickered at his outfit, but Han was getting more and more disturbed with the whole situation. "Can't we do something? We can't just let them kill each other."

Jaina smiled at her father. "Don't worry, everything's been taken care of." Han stared at her with confusion written boldly across his worried face. "I've already contacted Lowie." She tapped her temple. "His brainwash wasn't very thorough, and since I had been under the same type of hypnosis, I knew how to get around it. We already had an extensive mental conversation."

"You mean he's back to normal? Just like that?" Han asked. Jaina nodded. "Then what's he doing down there?"

"He's going to entertain us," Jaina smiled. She noticed that her father's grim face still hadn't changed, so she grew serious. "It's the only way, Dad. He can't just walk out now. Everyone will be looking for him."

"How's he going to get out of this fight without killing his opponent? A Foyo Master is no one to play around with."

Jaina shrugged. "I don't know, Dad. Lowie said he was going to take care of it."

Han turned his attention back to the main event on the floor. Lowbacca and Freew paced each other in a slow circle. Freew made the first move, drawing his swords and rushing the unarmed wookiee. Lowbacca ducked once and nimbly evaded the other blade as he thrust a hairy fist into the Foyo Master's chest. A weaker man would of had all the wind thrown from him, but Freew just stumbled back. He gathered himself and prepared a defense.

Lowbacca came on tentatively, trying to find some kind of opening in-between the curved swords. Freew went for one of Lowbacca's feints and his right blade went low. The wookiee followed his opponent's mistake by hitting the blade further down and away, leaving his right side exposed. Freew tried desperately to bring his left blade to bare, but Lowbacca had him. The Kashyyyk native grabbed both wrists of his opponent, twisted his arms, and delivered a stunning head butt in-between Freew's gaping eyes. Freew dropped both blades in order to keep his arms connected to his shoulders and stumbled backwards. Lowbacca grabbed both the swords, and the crowd erupted in a cheer of expectation. Instead of fighting the master with his own weapons, as was Lowbacca's tradition, the wookiee let out a terrific howl and thrust both blades down into the floor. Both three-quarter meter long swords shuddered as they sank up to their hilts in the hard packed ground.

Han watched the display of strength and expected the crowd to be awed, instead they jeered. Han's confusion was increased as he saw Wertrin, the guard who had led Luke and him to the Arena for their fight, talking with a man sitting near the edge of the Arena. What was he there for? Was he more than just a security guard? Storm troopers, even captains, out of uniform were just civilians. Han returned his gaze to the battle to see Lowbacca and Freew sparing. A Foyo Master specialized in hand to hand combat, but Han was sure that Lowbacca's strength would bring him out on top.

The crowd was growing continually restless towards Lowbacca's half-hearted effort. Han too was growing restless as he watched the man Wertrin was talking to reach for a com switch. All of the exits quickly filled with storm troopers, and Han could see the white-clad troopers start to move into position around the Arena. Han looked at Jaina, but she seemed oblivious to the subtle changes in their surroundings. "Jaina," Han said, shaking her out of her semi-trance, "we're in trouble. I think our cover is blown."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean Lowbacca isn't putting on a convincing show and this place is filling up with storm troopers faster than a detention block on the Death Star."

Jaina's head spun around, taking in all the sights, sounds, and feelings in a well rehearsed motion. "You're right." Now Jaina was the one who looked concerned.

Han wasn't going to wait for storm troopers to make the first move. He moved to the aisle amidst the mostly standing audience. With Jaina in toe, he shoved his way down to the bottom level. The storm troopers had now completed a ring around the Arena. Lowbacca was finishing the fight with his hands around Freew's neck. After a few seconds struggle, Freew collapsed to the ground, unconscious and clearly not dead. Lowbacca raised his arms in triumph, but the crowd was stilled, seeing the ring surrounded by storm troopers, and realizing for the first time that something was wrong with their champion.

Han understood the situation clearly. Who ever was running the show for the Imperials was on guard with Luke and Han loose. Jaina had reported back to her unknown superiors that she had finished the task and killed Han, but they might not have believed her. If Luke had been successful in finding and turning Jacen, then the Empire knew that they would have to come get Lowbacca. Basically he and Jaina had just walked into a trap, and had gotten Lowbacca snared as well. Han looked over at Wertrin and the man he had talked to. They were sitting behind a massive control panel, calling all the shots. Wertrin was probably put in charge down here, Han thought. He was supposed to keep an eye on Lowbacca to see if he started acting strange.

The storm troopers raised their weapons. Lowbacca was just now beginning to realize his dire position, trapped inside of a force field with no where to run. Lowbacca needed a distraction in the worst kind of way, and Han came through. Han drew the weapon Jaina had given him and fired twice, hitting the nearest storm trooper and the force field controls. The invisible shield flickered off, but the storm troopers were more interested in their fallen comrade. Han and Jaina blended into the thick crowd, milling about the chaos Han had started. People were shouting and stampeding towards the exits. The storm troopers were unable to hold their ground and gave up their posts at the doors.

Lowbacca had no such cover, and as soon as Wertrin was able to regain control of his berserk troops, he reminded them of their main target. Lowbacca hit the ground rolling as the first few laser bolts whisked over his head, scorching his fur. His roll brought him to the two swords he had imbedded in the ground. With a tremendous Force aided heave, he brought the two blades up and just in time two block three well aimed shots.

Han heard a snap hiss next to him, and watched his daughter cut down troopers to make it to the center ring. Han could hear the hum of the blade as the young Jedi swung it about, but familiar yellow glow of his daughter's weapon was absent. Watching Jaina block laser fire with her invisiblade was truly spectacular. The bolts seemed to explode against nothing and shower down in a frenzy of sparks. Han knew that they couldn't hold off the storm troopers forever, and already the huge building was clearing, offering them less and less cover.

Jaina and Lowbacca thought likewise, and they made a conscious effort to work themselves off of the battle ring, and into more cover. Han, with his identity still safe made his way through the thinning crowd to join his companions. Han came up short suddenly as he bumped into a very broad chest. He found himself staring up into the eyes of Wertrin. Wertrin looked deep into Han's eyes and recognition struck him. "Well, well," Wertrin said, his deep voice managing to carry over the throng. "Allen, look who I caught."

The force field operator turned away from his smoking station to look at Wertrin's prize. Han tried to get away, but Wertrin's grip on his arm was like a vise. Allen stood from his chair and walked over to Han. "I don't suppose you want to fix my computer." Allen's hand dropped to his holster incredibly fast, and Han could see that this man was much more than just an operator. His blaster came up and exploded in his hands. All three spun around to see Jaina holding her deceivingly activated lightsaber in her hand.

"Let him go," she demanded coolly.

Han didn't wait for Wertrin to comply, but rapped him on the head with the butt of his blaster and slipped free from his grasp. The crowd of unarmed spectators were quick to see who were the good guys and who were the bad guys, but they had no intention of getting in the way of either, and Han, Jaina, and Lowbacca found their way clear before them.

"This way!" Han yelled as he tried to get Jaina and Lowbacca's attention. He thought he remembered the way that he and Luke had come in. Though there were several tunnels leading from the lower levels of the arena, Han was pretty sure that the one in front of him was the same one they had traversed to get in.

"Wait, Dad," Jaina said, running up to her father. "Lowie says that he knows a quicker way." Jaina pointed over to a tunnel that seemed to be totally unguarded.

Han saw through the ruse immediately. "No, they know that Lowbacca knows this arena. They will expect us to take the more direct route. There is most likely a trap down that tunnel, that's why it's vacant." Jaina nodded in comprehension, and followed her father down the tunnel he had pointed to.

Han glanced back over his shoulder to see that the troopers were finally fighting their way through the sea of civilians that had separated them. A few stray shots streaked over their shoulders, and Jaina fell behind the group to give them cover as they ran. The tunnel they were running to was still guarded by three storm troopers, but a few neatly blocked shots by Lowbacca, and four quick shots from Han's blaster, eradicated the pathetic blockade. The threesome plunged into the relative safety and darkness of the tunnel.

***

Wertrin watched as the trio made their way into the tunnel. "Thrawn was right," Allen said as he walked up beside Wertrin, still rubbing his sore hand.

"He always is. Little did they know that the other tunnel had no one in it." Wertrin brought his com up from his belt. "Commander, they are coming your way."

***

The lights were out in the tunnel, and though Jaina had her lightsaber, it produced no light. The smell of animals soon began to creep into their nostrils. Han saw the glint of the metal cages that he remembered from down here, and he could here a few animals pacing restlessly in their cages.

"Which way now?" Jaina asked. They were in a small area of cages. There were a few small tunnels leading off in several directions.

"I think we came in from that direction," Han said and started running in the given direction. Laser fire lit up the small room. "Then again . . ."

Storm troopers envaded the privacy of the room. They walked in cautiously, holding their fire, knowing of the Jedi's proficiency in blocking the blaster ammunition and wanting to hit them all at once. The trio spun around to find that the route they had come in was also filling with troopers. Han saw another exit out of the room, and not caring where it led, ushered the group down it.

***

"Progress report," Wertrin's com sounded.

"I have just received word that they have taken flight deeper into the bowls of the arena, Admiral. We should have them shortly."

"Good," Admiral Thrawn said. "Don't over concern yourself with taking them alive. Little bits and pieces are also acceptable."

***

Han, Jaina, and Lowbacca walked cautiously, not caring to run anymore. They all realized that this tunnel hadn't been guarded for a reason. It was probably that same reason that they didn't hear any boots coming from behind. Walking into a trap when you know it's a trap is much worse than not knowing.

After several long moments of silence they came to a large cavern. The light was awful, but all three could get the sense that they were not alone. "Come out, come out what ever you are," Han said, breaking the silence.

Three things happened at once. A loud clang came from each side of the cavern, two invisible beasts came rushing towards the trio, and a trap door opened under Han. Han slide down a crude shoot and was dumped unceremoniously onto a hard, cold concrete floor. He quickly scampered to his feet only to find that the room he was in was even darker than the one he had just left. Off in the far corner of the room, he heard a long deep growl. Something began walking toward him slowly. Han could tell from the sound of the foot-falls, that it was big.

Thirty feet above Han, Jaina and Lowbacca barely avoided getting crushed by two huge black panthers. The two young Jedi tried to position themselves in a ready stance against the unseen foe. In the dark the black cats blended perfectly with their surroundings. Both Jaina and Lowbacca could sense their presence with the Force, but the cats were so quick that the Jedi could only tell where their foes were a second ago.

Lowbacca decided to take charge of the situation. He had spent the last few weeks fighting so many different animals that he understood better than anyone the tactics of these kinds of hunters. Wait in the dark until you are ready to pounce. Rarely do such cats have to take up the defensive, and accordingly, they aren't very good at it. Lowbacca rushed the nearest one and swung his large swords. The panther was totally unprepared for such bold tactics and got hit severely on the shoulder.

Jaina saw the technique and was a quick learner. Together she and Lowbacca chased the two cats around the room until both were out of commission. As the two Jedi stood over their fallen enemies, they noticed for the first time that Han was no longer with them. They also noticed that storm troopers were finally following them down the tunnel. Hoping that Han was OK, they continued their flee down the tunnel.

As they ran, they began to get hopeful when they saw light ahead, but as they got closer, they recognized it as artificial light, and more importantly, it was coming towards them. The sound of an armored transport became audible, and its headlights shown in the two escapees' eyes as it rounded the corner ahead of them. They both spun on their heels to see that the storm troopers had finally caught up with them. They were hopelessly trapped.

The storm troopers slowly advanced on the two young Jedi, cautious, but confident that there would be no escape this time. The wall of the narrow tunnel suddenly exploded, covering half of the troopers. The other half was soon swept away by a huge fist. Jaina and Lowbacca watched stunned as an enormous rancor came through the hole in the wall. They were even more stunned when they saw Han sitting high on the neck of the beast. Han looked down toward his companions. "Hello," he said all too cheerfully. "I ran into an old friend of mine."

A shot rang out, and a section of the wall next to the rancor exploded. The small group turned back toward the armored vehicle coming towards them. Jaina got ready for a suicide charge, but the rancor beat her to it. The beast picked up a huge piece of the wall and hurled it down the high tunnel. The tank exploded on impact, tearing yet another hole in the tunnel. This time the light that they saw wasn't artificial.

"Jaina, Lowbacca, I'd like you to meet Rachtog. Rachtog, my daughter Jaina and her friend Lowbacca." Instead of responding, Rachtog scooped the two Jedi up in his huge hand and placed them on his back next to Han. Rachtog wanted to escape from the Imperials just as much as the rest of them. He ambled over toward the gaping hole, and soon they were out in the daylight.

As inconspicuous as three people can be while riding on the back of a rancor, they made their way through the city and into the woods.

****

Chapter 36 "Cliffhanger"

A small path of dull floor began to make itself visible under the constantly pacing feet of Thrawn. The floor of his office was polished to a high shine, but in the last few hours he had been pacing endlessly, wearing down that shine.

He stopped his pacing and looked at the Maltha ice vine. He told the cleaning droids not to touch it. It still lay on the floor amongst its now totally melted frame, but it was yet to whither. The vine clung desperately to its vibrant colors. Thrawn turned away in disgust. This time things would be different. He had just received a report that the Jedi and Han had escaped to the forest. He had of course expected that Wertrin, as good as he was, would not be able to handle the elusive trio, but he had let him try, knowing what little harm it would do. He had sent scouts out to find the ships that everyone had arrived in. They had reported that they had found two ships: an E-wing and a makeshift civilian craft. The scouts had said the second ship looked like it was ready to fall apart at any second, but Thrawn knew that this was the Jedi's ship and it was probably faster and better equipped than his best shuttle. He had rolled every possible situation through his mind and no escape seemed possible. They could escape the forest alive, but with what he had planned, that seemed unlikely. They could get to their ships, which were guarded. He didn't put too much trust in those guards though. If they got into space, he liked his chances of victory much better. Jedi were good pilots, but they couldn't block laser fire in space, and before they even got out into space, they would have to get through the planetary shield.

For once Thrawn felt confident. His door chimed. "Come in."

Frowinger stepped through the door. "You called for me, Admiral."

"Yes, we have some work to do."

***

One by one the ships dropped back into real space. Like a taunt rubber band, the ships snapped back into reality. Wedge was in one of the first ships to drop out and he woefully counted the ships that came out behind him. The ships began to slow down in there arrival, and soon no more ships dropped in. Wedge was awe struck. Sure they had won, but they had lost over half of their original ships. They had a victory, but at what price! Slowly, each ship began to report in. Each commander sounded off with extreme reluctance. Even if they reported in three times each, they only be slightly over their original amount.

Leia strode up to Wedge purposefully. "Wedge?"

"Leia. . ." he tried to find what he wanted to say. Yes, he had promised to go to Hastrin now, but he couldn't summon the courage. The New Republic had just taken more losses in, he looked at his chronometer in awe - it hadn't seemed that long -, ten hours then they had taken in the past ten years. He found it hard to tell his decimated fleet that they had to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire, and for what. Han and Luke might already be dead. Surely they had dealt the Empire a big enough blow today. Hastrin could wait couldn't it.

Wedge turned to Leia, but couldn't speak into those pleading eyes. He looked back at the list of ships that had reported in and for the first time noticed four absences he hadn't seen at first. Lando and the 185th hadn't reported in. His knees felt weak under his suddenly very heavy heart.

"Wedge?" Leia repeated.

"I . . ." he stared but couldn't compose any words.

"Admiral," a voice came over the com. Wedge looked at his panel for an identification of the voice. It was Captain Tremon. Wedge listen as the Captain continued. "I believe that we have another mission." It was a simple statement, and both Wedge and Tremon knew what it meant. Tremon was the Captain of the 185th. He loved those boys like his own sons. You have to pick up and carry on.

"I believe that you are correct," Wedge responded, finding his voice. Wedge flipped on his universal communicator. "People, it's time to go again. Set course for Hastrin and prepare to jump on my mark." Wedge turned to Leia, she was smiling weakly at him. She knew how hard this was for him. Wedge smiled back. He leaned over to hit a switch on his command console, and a few seconds the later the ships disappeared into hyperspace.

***

A similar scene occurred elsewhere, only in reverse, and slightly less ships were involved. "Doesn't look like a welcome mat fellas," Lando said as the Falcon and the three W-wings found themselves face to face with a large fleet. "It looks like they are in a shield formation. I don't think that they are expecting an attack."

As soon as the words left his mouth dozens of TIE fighters swarmed at them. "Any one for turning around," Haivven asked. As if in response the Dark Fist, Snotzenexer's Super Star Destroyer, jumped out of hyperspace right behind them.

"No," Vince responded. "I don't want to turn around." He punched his engines forward and held down his laser cannons. Ahead of him three TIE's vaporized, and Vince flew into the fray of fighters, putting distance between him and the Dark Fist.

Bep and Jon followed suit. Haivven and Bremmy scrambled over to the gun wells in the Falcon and began to support the W-wings in their offense. Almost as an after thought, Lando activated the cloaking device.

"You know what this means?" Vince asked as he casually wove his way through the space debris of former TIE's.

"Know what what means?" Jon asked as two more fighters who were tailing him crashed into each other as they tried to mimic a corkscrew move he had just pulled.

"The shield."

"The planetary shield?" Bep asked.

"What other shield is there," Vince asked with a ring of sarcasm. "Ask yourself why someone would put up a planetary shield when they don't expect any ships to be attacking the planet."

"If your not trying to keep someone out than you must be trying to keep someone in," Bep finished the thought."

"How do you know they weren't expecting us?" Jon asked.

"If you had an enemy that was attacking the Dark Ring, would you expect there to be any survivors left to make another attack?" Bep asked.

"That depends if I was my own enemy?" Jon said, a little humor creeping into his voice as he vaporized a small squadron of three TIE's. "If I knew that I was going to attack myself, I would be quite sure that I would win."

"If Jon ever shuts up," Vince interrupted, "we'd be able to complete our thought that if they are trying to keep someone in, that would mean that Luke and Han must be still alive, and likely on the run."

Jon grew suddenly serious. "Two guys against a planet of Imperials. I think it's about time to bring in the reinforcements."

"How are we supposed to get through that shield?" Bep asked.

"I've got a plan," Vince announced.

***

Anakin drove the land speeder toward the town. He and Jacen hadn't talked through out the trip. Luke lay in the back, not only voiceless, but motionless. Jacen was tending to his uncle. Luke was going to make it, if nothing else happened, but it would be a while regardless, before he could operate under his own power.

"How much farther," Anakin asked, finally breaking the silence.

Jacen looked up from his uncle and tried to figure out where they were on the road. "Oh, just a few more kilometers."

"Good because I -" he paused in mid sentence and jerked the speeder off the road and into the trees.

Jacen held fast to the side rails to keep from being thrown to the ground. "Was someone coming?"

Anakin shook his head. "No, I sense Jaina and Dad over this way."

Jacen closed his eyes. After a few moments he could sense Jaina and his father. He quickly appraised the condition of his sister. She was fine, a little shaken up, but fine. He opened his eyes and looked at Anakin. He had sensed them in mid sentance without so much as a hint of strain on his face. His uncle had told Jacen that Anakin was stronger in the Force than anyone else he had ever found, but this kind of discipline was beyond what he was capable of just a few weeks ago. "What happened to you?"

Anakin was a little taken aback by the abruptness of the question, but realized his brother's meaning. "I went to Endor."

"I know, we, or rather Master Streen found your picture globe. But what happened?"

"Grandfather visited me the night before I left Yavin IV."

"He visited you!" Jacen was both surprised and jealous. He had never seen his grandfather, and the only history he could dig up was about Darth Vader and very little on Anakin Skywalker.

"He told me that I needed to find out the truth about the Force and that I needed to go to Endor to find it."

"What did you find?"

Anakin paused as he wove through a particularly thick grove of trees. "The Light Side is just as powerful, if not more than the Dark Side. The Force is channeled through your emotions. We as students have been told that anger and fear are of the Dark Side. That is right, but we were also told to simply be passive and defensive and that aggression was also of the Dark Side. That isn't the best way to use the Force. In order to fight against the evils of the Dark Side we need to use equally strong emotions. Instead of hate, we need to love. When you fight an enemy don't do it for revenge, but for justice."

Jacen nodded his head slowly. It all made sense to him. "In fact," Anakin continued, "the more you use the strong positive emotions, the less likely you will be to tempted by the Dark Side. If you use the powerful emotion of love, there is no reason to use hate, if it is no stronger."

Now Jacen and Anakin could here noises of branches being broken ahead. It sounded as if a huge beast was trying to make its way through the tangled forest. As they got nearer, they saw that their ears had not deceived them. Rachtog reared up slightly as the speeder approached, but Jaina, who had made a mental link with the animal on their trip, was quick to soothe it.

Anakin and Jacen were more than a little surprised to see their friends' interesting mode of transportation. Jaina was quick to notice Luke's condition. "What happened to Uncle Luke?"

"Don't worry," Anakin was quick to say. "We ran into a little bit of trouble. He'll be fine if we can get out of here."

"Before I forget," Jacen said, "Lowbacca, I have something for you." Jacen picked up the extra lightsaber that Luke had been caring with him and tossed it to the wookiee. Lowbacca growled his thanks.

"Great reunion, guys," Han interrupted, "but I think it is going to have to wait until we get back to safety." As if to reiterate his point, a scout ship flew over head. "No doubt they will come after us."

"Do you guys hear something?" Anakin asked. Everyone was quiet. A small whistling noise became louder.

"Everybody move, now!" Han shouted. Rachtog wasted no time, clambering through the trees in the same direction they had been going, and Anakin pressed the throttle down hard weaving his craft through the legs of the huge rancor and speeding ahead. Behind them the bomb exploded, sending a strong heat wave in every direction. Flames erupted throughout the trees. Rachtog stumbled under the shock-wave, but he kept moving. From their right they saw two legged walkers coming toward them. From above more bombers circled their position.

"It feels like they are herding us," Jaina said. Lowbacca growled his agreement.

"But to where?" Han asked. He remembered seeing the planet from above and couldn't remember any significant geographical features. As if answering his question, the group suddenly left the forest and found themselves in a clearing that bordered a deep ravine. Rachtog pulled up short, kicking a few small rocks that bounced over the lip of the cliff and shattered on the rocks bellow. Anakin and Jacen were already at the edge.

Another high whistle became audible from above and the forest behind them burst into flames. There was no retreat backwards, that was obvious. Anakin examined the ravine. It was about one hundred feet across and two hundred feet deep. He knew that he could easily float across. He was pretty sure that Jaina, Jacen, and Lowbacca could manage it as well, but that wasn't what he was worried about. What he was worried about was coming down the ravine at an incredibly fast speed. The TIE fighter screamed toward the group and let go a ferocious volley of fire. Anakin had his lightsaber out in a flash and deflected the shots that were close. As the TIE streaked past, Han drew his blaster and fired at the exposed solar panel. The shots did little damage, but it woke up the rest of the group. Lowbacca leaped off Rachtog's back, activated his lightsaber, and with his incredible strength, hurled it at the offending craft. The lightsaber cut off one of the panels and sent the TIE into a doomed corkscrew. It glanced off of the ravine wall, ripping off the other panel, and the pod exploded at the bottom like an egg with fiery yolk.

Han and Jaina dismounted and they tried to think of what to do next. "Can you guys get us across?" Han asked the four Jedi present.

Anakin nodded slowly. "Yes and no. I know for myself that I could get the Rancor across with little trouble, but I can't do it that quickly, and while who ever goes across is over the ravine, they will be free game for any ship who comes down the trench."

As if explaining Anakin's point, three TIE's came screaming down the ravine toward the group. They fired, not at the group this time, but at the cliff below them. They could feel the ground tremble below them, and realized the Imperial's new tactic. Lowbacca had had his lightsaber return to him and he hurled it again. Rancor's are not stupid, and Rachtog knew what was going on. He ripped up a near by tree, and like an all-star smashball player, he hit one of TIE's out of the air and into the opposite wall with a terrific explosion.

Lowbacca's lightsaber returned to him after disposing of the TIE it was thrown at, but before he could throw it at the third, Rachtog launched the tree at it. The TIE didn't have a chance. Lowbacca roared his approval at their new friend's performance. Before they had too much time to celebrate, they saw four more squadrons coming towards them, plus bombers from above started to close in on them.

****

Chapter 37 "Over Reaction"

Snotzenexer saw the four New Republic ships in front of him, and he knew these to be the same ones responsible for the Empire's loss at Danzig 359. Snotzenexer usually did not let personal vendettas cloud his judgment, but then there was no need for him to get angry; Sanson was there.

Snotzenexer watched as his fiancé's face exploded in fury. "I want all available fighters deployed to intercept. Move the Dark Fist right into the middle of the fray. I want to pin those fighters in-between us and the planetary shield." The orders were carried out, and Snotzenexer watched as the battle was played out before him.

***

The Falcon was cloaked, and unleashing invisible death to all the fighters who found themselves in either Haivven or Bremmy's sights. It took all of Lando's skill as a pilot and Chewbacca's as a co-pilot to keep from running into all the TIE's that didn't see them.

The 185th was busy playing near the shield. "Usually, about one third or one fourth of the ships in a planetary shield is designated as a power ship," Vince explained. "We need to find one of these ships, it should be easy because it won't fire at us." The three W-wings wove around the Star Destroyers until they found one that appeared to be inert.

"It looks like we have a winner!" Jon yelled when they saw that this Star Destroyer wasn't going to fire. "Now what?"

"We go inside," Vince explained. "Each ship is half in the shield and half out of the shield, if we go in one section in the front of the triangular ship and out the back, we should be able to get through the shield."

"What!" Bep screamed. "You're crazy. You want us to fly through a Imperial class Star Destroyer."

"Sure. If you go in through the bottom's main docking bay, you can get to the ship's maintenance section, and from there the rear TIE bay is on the opposite side of the back wall. It'll be easy."

"That's why I love you man," Jon said. "You're crazy."

"Let's save our feelings of love and affection for each other until after the mission, OK."

The under side of the Star Destroyer did not look too inviting, and Vince hadn't expected the Imperials to open the lower door for them, but three well aimed torpedoes did the job against the unarmed door.

***

Tallon was watching the battle from his bridge. "Sir, we have a report that the lower docking bay doors have just been breached."

Tallon looked at the officer as if he were drunk. Why would anyone want to break into the docking bay? Did the New Republic think that a small strike team would be able to take over his ship. "Send three squads of storm troopers down to investigate the situation."

"Sir, there is already ready one squad down there," the officer responded.

"And I want there to be four. Do you have a problem with that, Lieutenant."

"Uh, no sir."

"Good." Tallon wondered how the Empire had aloud that arrogant of a clone on the bridge. Tallon pulled up a security screen and flipped to the docking bay. He watched as three fighters rose into the bay and began firing on the squad of storm troopers that were indeed stationed down there. Tallon swore as his screen went blank. They must of hit a power cable. Tallon was not in a good mood as it was, and these fighters had picked the wrong Star Destroyer to be messing with.

Tallon got up from his command chair. He turned to the former commander of the ship. "You have the bridge. I am going to check this out personally." The man might have questioned the prudence of this if it weren't for the fact that Tallon was strapping on a side arm, and the lieutenant commander valued his life more than that.

***

Vince watched as the last of the storm troopers fell under their superior fire power. He glanced around and counted five turbolifts. Bep was thinking the same thing. "We might want to take those turbo lifts out," he said.

"Consider it done," Jon replied eagerly. A quick sweep of the area sealed off the docking bay.

Vince maneuvered his E-wing carefully through the narrow service tunnel at the far end of the main docking bay and emerged into the maintenance section. Surprise doesn't adequately describe the look on the technicians' faces. They had just heard gun fire from the docking bay and now three ships they had never seen before were parading through the lower sections of the Star Destroyer like they owned it. Jon didn't allow the look of surprise to last to long. Dead people aren't often surprised.

Vince unexpectedly landed. "What's up buddy?" Jon asked.

Vince popped the top of his W-wing and hopped out. He kept his helmet on which had his com. "Just thought of something. You guys just hold down the fort. I shouldn't be more than a minute or two." Vince ran over to a door in the wall of the service station and disappeared through it.

Bep and Jon settled their ship down, pointing in opposite directions, covering the only two entrances they knew of. They looked at each other through their cockpit shields and shrugged. "What are you doing Vince?" Bep asked.

Vince was walking slowly through a room swarmed with pipes, wires, and massive bulkheads. "You know how these things are powered right?"

"Let's assume not."

"They are run off a nuclear reactor. There are usually two types in this big of a ship." Vince paused as he lifted a panel, revealing another room below. He dropped down into the new room. There was a steady thrumming throughout the room. He picked his way through the pipes of the rarely visited room. "There are two types of reactors," he repeated as he peered through the darkness, "fission and fusion. Fission is a good source of massive power all at once since it is based on a exponential chain reaction and is used to power the engines and weapons. Fusion is a safer way to produce a constant energy flow and is used to run the electronics, shields, and all the other vital systems." Vince paused when he came to another door. He ignored the radioactive symbol on it and proceeded through.

"Right now the planetary shield is being operated by both of them, because this is a power ship for the shield, and all of the weapons have been taken off line. Meaning that both the fusion reactor and the fission reactor are wired into the shields, leaving the weapons and propulsion with out power." Vince finally stopped his frantic search when he came to the control panel he was looking for. "I just plan to give the shield a burst of power."

***

Tallon ran into the storm troopers he had sent off as they were back tracking through the hallway. "What's the problem?"

"Sir, the turbo lifts are out of commission. We have to go down to the lower level via the rear turbo lifts."

Tallon swallowed hard controlling his temper. "Lead on," he said and fell in line behind the troops. They raced to the far rear of the ship, went down as far as they could, and then traversed back along the bottom. Tallon fell back, letting the storm troopers get a good lead, so that he wouldn't be caught in the heat of battle but could come in later and asses the situation.

Tallon was thinking about the situation, when heard a loud clang from beneath him and then a curse.

***

"What's wrong, Vince."

"It's nothing," he lied shaking his finger in an effort to quell the pain. "This cover was just jammed and I had to yank it off. Sorry about the noise."

"What do you mean, 'a little power burst?'"

"You know how a fission reactor works, right Bep?"

"Uranium atoms are bombard by high energy neutrons, causing the atoms to split. The split gives off a small amount of energy, yields two new substances, and releases around two to three neutrons. These created neutrons are propelled by the released energy and collide with other uranium atoms, causing a chain reaction."

"And how do they control the reaction?" Vince asked, already knowing the answer. He was busy trying to access the engine computer, but was having a little difficulty breaking in.

"Two ways. They have control rods which absorb some of the released neutrons to slow down the reaction, and usually only one percent of the uranium is radioactive. Uranium 235 is the reactive isotope, while the majority of the uranium, the other ninety-nine percent, is dormant uranium 238."

Vince knew all of this and was desperately trying to get the computer to confirm it. "Got it!" Vince yelled as the information popped up on the screen. Since the discovery of replicators for pure elements was discovered, the need to actually provide uranium disappeared. This meant that the reactor was feed by an automatic device which provided it with the specified amount of uranium 238 and 235. For example at idle speeds, the percentage was set at 99.3 to .7 percent of uranium 238 to 235. At top speeds the ratio was changed to about 98 to 2. Vince didn't have any luck when he ran into the built in safeties. The computer wasn't going to let him change the percentages manually.

"Wait!" Bep yelled, realizing what Vince wanted to do. "If your going to increase the amount of uranium 235, I'm leaving now. We'll be sitting on the biggest nuclear weapon in existence. That reactor has to produce more uranium per second than you can find in a hundred bombs!"

"Well right now I'm having a little difficulty getting the computer to let me change the percentages, but when I do, I'll set a timer on it so we'll get out of here in time."

"I'm afraid you aren't going anywhere." Vince looked up from the console he was struggling with. Tallon stood across the room, having just descended a service ladder. "You see," he said as he leveled his blaster at Vince, "I don't take kindly to trespassers on my ship."

Vince dove to the side just as Tallon fired. Vince scrambled around on the floor and found the cover that he had pried off earlier. As Tallon rounded the console, Vince threw the cover at him. Tallon flinched and fired reflexively. The bolt went harmlessly into the ceiling. Vince scrambled up from the floor and ran in-between the assorted pipes and equipment that filled the room.

"What's going on in there?" Bep asked. "I thought I heard blaster shots."

"Oh, nothing," Vince said as he ducked two more high shots. "I just ran into the janitor down here."

"Heads up Bep," Jon interrupted. "We got company. Storm troopers, twelve o'clock."

The white clad troopers began pouring into the maintenance station, and Jon mowed them down. When they saw that they were out gunned, they regrouped to gather a more powerful approach.

Tallon walked quietly through the enormous engine region of his Star Destroyer. He heard a clang from the far left corner of the cluttered room, turned, and fired. From his right, Vince jumped out and swung a heavy metal pipe into Tallon's midsection. Tallon stumbled back, but kept his grasp on his blaster. He brought it level and Vince hit it out of his hand. Tallon considered the gun a loss and squared off against Vince. Vince held a pipe and was taller than Tallon, but Tallon probably out weighed him by at least fifty pounds and had many years of physical training, while Vince was only twenty years old. Tallon bull rushed his younger opponent, Vince tried to swing, but Tallon was to fast and got inside the swing. They collided solidly, and Vince flew to the floor. Still holding the pipe, he swung it at the Captain's legs and Tallon came tumbling down on top of him.

Vince squeezed out from under Tallon and tried to find a means of escape. Tallon was quick and leaped up after him. Vince tried to out run him, but Tallon caught him from behind. Vince went down and tried to grab anything to stop his fall. His hand caught a lever and he pulled it down as he fell. The emergency sprinkler system came on and water was everywhere. They both let up for a while, while they contemplated this slight change of events. Vince scrambled up again and a loud hissing noise caught his attention. Over in the corner the water was evaporating as soon as it hit the floor. The reactor must be right beneath that corner, he though. He didn't have too much time to think about it; Tallon was up again. Vince tried to run away but was tackled from behind again. This time when he fell his hand closed around something else: Talon's blaster!

Tallon wrestled Vince into a prone position, and for the first time Vince saw that he was holding a wrench. Tallon held the tool above the young pilot's head. "I believe this is the end," Tallon said.

"Yes," Vince agreed, "I believe so." As Tallon brought the wrench down, Vince fired. The shot took Tallon in the shoulder holding the wrench. His hand released the heavy tool, and it thudded next to Vince's head. Tallon reeled in pain. Vince tried to fire again, but Tallon kicked the gun out of his hand, and it flew off into the room. Vince didn't waste any time. He grabbed the wrench off the ground, and as Tallon charged again much slower, he brought the tool up hard and hit him in the chin. Tallon nearly flipped over backwards. He hit the ground hard and didn't get up.

Vince had lost his helmet in the skirmish, and went off to find it. "How's it going guys?" he asked as soon as he found it.

"Hurry up will you!" Bep shouted.

"Yea, they're setting up laser cannons out here. We can't hold them off forever," Jon added.

Vince remembered the hissing and ran over to the "hot" corner. He found a small electronic box mounted on the wall. He pried it open and examined the contents. There were two small wires leading into the box, and it was connected to something on the other side of the wall. He quickly unscrewed the front electronic panel and found two digital displays. One said 98.7 and the other read 1.3. Vince recognized it at once as the regulator which was probably connected to the replicator. He used the screw driver to dig at the two wires. When he got them both out he waited. After he counted forty-seven seconds, he heard the reactor power down. It took forty-seven seconds for the replicated uranium to reach the reactor. "Could I cut it any closer." He took a deep breath, switched the wires, and plugged them back in.

Vince turned and ran as fast as his long legs could carry him. He tried to count to himself, but he couldn't keep his pace without throwing off his counting. As he leaped over Tallon's figure, Tallon stirred.

Tallon saw Vince running away again. "Hey, stop!" Tallon tried to get up, but his head and shoulder were killing him, and he slipped on the wet floor.

Vince backtracked through the maze that had gotten him there and he was back in the maintenance station in record time. "Welcome back," Jon said. "What's the rush? Is there something you'd like to tell us."

"Yeah, there is," Vince said as he leaped into his cockpit amidst storm trooper. Jon covered his tail, blasting away the three stupid storm troopers who tried to take Vince out. "I'd just like to say that in about seventeen seconds, this ship is going to be the brightest thing since Danzig 359."

"Thanks for the big window, buddy," Jon said, but was already turning his W-wing around. "Out the back door, fellas. Would some one be kind enough to knock. I seem to be all out of torpedoes."

Bep and Vince each unleashed a projectile at the back wall, leaving a gaping hole into the rear hanger bay. They sped though the hole, and out into space.

Tallon got up groggily and noticed a rapidly increasing thrumming under his feet. As he watched the far corner in the room start to melt, he knew what Vince had done. Tallon stood up straight and saluted. The reactor blew up.

If the members of the 185th hadn't been in such a hurry to get out of range, they would have enjoyed the spectacle. The Star Destroyer exploded far beyond anyones' imagination. An enormous ultraviolet wave spread out along the spherical planetary shield. As the wave passed over each Star Destroyer joined with the shield, the force field globes blew apart, and every third ship, suffered the same fate as Tallon's destroyer. As the wave reached the outer limits of the present hemisphere, it lost most of it's energy, and the Star Destroyers on the far side of the planet were saved, although their shields were fried.

***

Snotzenexer watched the sight in awe. Sanson immediately recognized how this effect had been accomplished, and so her awe was magnified several times. Lando was later quoted as saying that he thought it was "pretty neat."

****

Chapter 38 "The Maltha Ice Vine"

Danzig 6 finally saw its target. It was located deep in the core systems. It was a medium size planet covered with blue oceans and rolling plains. Several rich forests dotted the landscape, and mountains rose majestically from the surface. Near one of these mountains, standing terribly close to the edge of a deep ravine, four Jedi students, one Jedi master, a former smuggler, and a rancor were running out of options.

The heat from the flaming forest about twenty meters behind them was beginning to take effect. Jacen tried to create a cool barrier between the group and the fire, but the fire was growing fast. Anakin was struggling to keep the cliff under their feet from sliding into the ravine. Jaina was protecting her uncle. Han was desperately trying to modify the ground transport to take them safely down the side of the cliff. Lowbacca and Rachtog were fighting off the TIE's, which were coming in faster and faster. Everyone was loosing their battle.

The tension reached its peek when another whistling came from above. They all looked skyward to see a bomber fly away and a small speck falling towards them. Jaina reached out to it with the Force. She frowned. "There must be an ysalamiri on board. I can't redirect it."

"Well guys-" Han started, but was interrupted when the bomb exploded prematurely several hundred feet above them. "Wha-"

A W-wing streaked through the dissipating explosion. Han squinted and could see Jon giving him a thumbs up through the cockpit. "Ha! I never thought I'd be happy to see that punk."

Bep and Vince swept down into the ravine and the group on the cliff watched in awe as the three fighters tore through the ranks of TIE's. A large shadow loomed over the group and they looked up to see the underside of a very familiar ship. "The Falcon!" they all screamed

Anakin began to wince under the strain of keeping the near collapsing cliff side together. "Bring it down! Bring it down!" Han yelled as he saw the look of effort on his son's face. Lando obliged and the ship hovered in the air as he lowered the ramp to the cliff side. Jaina and Jacen carried their uncle into the ship with Lowbacca close behind. Han watched Anakin as his son spoke mentally to the Rancor. The beast nodded and jumped off the edge of the cliff. Anakin lowered him slowly until he reached the bottom. Han watched as the animal scampered away from the place where the cliff side would soon be. "Let's go, son."

Anakin followed his father into the Falcon. As soon as Anakin's foot left the cliff, he blinked, and the whole area slid down into the ravine.

***

Wedge and the rest of the New Republic dropped into a high orbit around the planet of Hastrin. They were facing a Super Star Destroyer and a wide spread of listless Imperial Star Destroyers.

Snotzenexer saw them and decided that enough was enough. He knew when it was time to regroup, and now was as good a time as any. He sent a message to the rest of the fleet saying as much. Seconds after Wedge dropped in, the rest of the Imperial fleet dropped out.

Somewhere deep in Wedge's Calamarian cruiser, R2-D2 was beeping furiously. "What is it? What is it?" an exasperated C3-PO asked. After listening to a few shrill whistles that only he could interpret, Threepio gasped. "Oh my, we must tell Princess Leia."

"Tell Leia what?" Leia walked out of a nearby hallway.

"It seems that Artoo has been talking to the ships computer and there is a huge comet that is on a collision course with Hastrin."

Leia wasted no time racing through the ship and relaying the information to Wedge. Wedge was just about to try to raise the rest of the fleet on the com, when an incoming message cut him off. "Hey, everyone. Glad you could join us."

"Han!" Leia screamed.

"Leia! Boy, have I missed you. You must have been worried sick. Don't worry Luke is fine. The kids are with me too, don't ask how or why."

"I'd love to chat with you Han," Wedge put in. "But you've got to get off that planet. It's got an ETA with a comet in less than two minutes."

"No problem." 

***

Thrawn was pacing again. His computer screen beeped at him. They had given him a new one after he had thrown the old one at the Maltha ice vine, which still hadn't died yet despite the fact that he had moped up all of the water and the vine was now just lying on a dry floor. Thrawn sneered at it as he flipped the screen on. Thrawn looked at the young officer standing before him. It was obvious to Thrawn that this man had just lost whatever game it was that his officers played to decide which one had to tell Thrawn bad news. "Report."

"Sir," he started, but decided to try again. "Admiral, we have just received word from Commander Snotzenexer that the Dark Ring has been destroyed." The officer paused and Thrawn saw that he had more to say, much more. "Also the planetary shield has been destroyed, along with a sixth of our fleet in orbit." More. "Um, the uh, Jedi have made it to their ships, defeated the guards, and are leaving the planet." Thrawn waited patiently. "A large New Republic fleet has just dropped in, forcing our remaining fleet to retreat." Sweat was really starting to stand up on the young lieutenant's forehead now. "And Admiral," he really didn't want to say this," uh Sir, we are all screwed." This last bold comment left Thrawn slightly reeling. On his screen, the lieutenant's face was replaced with that of Danzig 6. On the bottom of the screen it said, "Collision course. ETA: 0:01.26"

Thrawn put his head in his hands and remained in that position for the rest of his life, which lasted slightly under a minute and a half.

The six ships left Hastrin in tight formation. "Nice to see you," Wedge said with an enormous grin.

"Like wise," Han replied. "What do you say, we blow this joint."

"Agreed."

Danzig 6 was now clearly visible as it sped toward Hastrin. Han looked at it for a long time. "I wonder where it came from."

"Something that big can't be natural," Lando interjected.

"I guess it doesn't really matter," Han said and he pushed the hyperdrive forward and disappeared into the starry sky.

Danzig 6 was a boiling mass of super compressed gasses that was quite mad at being forced so far from its home. It finally got its chance to vent its fury. It is of interest to note that at this point the Maltha ice vine shriveled up, incinerated, and died. Thrawn probably would have been more appreciative of this fact if he wasn't so busy shriveling up, incinerating, and dying himself.

THE END

For curiosities sake: An Epilogue

Luke stood on the hill as the wind swept through is unkempt hair. He shifted his weight slightly from his good leg back to his cane. He was gazing down in the valley where the ancient temples lay in ruins. He looked over the activity of his students cleaning up all of the twisted metal that had been shaped in the form of walkers, TIE fighters and tanks. He sighed deeply. He had asked that the temples not be rebuilt. What was the point? He had always hated those dank things anyway. They would build a more modern Academy about a kilometer away in the nice clearing that the Empire had made when they landed for the attack.

"Are you sure you don't want us to cleaned up the temples?" Luke turned around and winced at the pain is his bad leg.

"No, I'm sure. I want them to stand as a reminder to everyone what the Dark Side does. I want people to see why I have this Academy here in the first place. If we didn't have tombstones we would never remember where our loved ones were buried. I want everyone to remember what happened here so it will never happen again."

Streen nodded. Together they stood atop the hill and watched the activity.

***

Han cleared his throat and squinted for the umpteenth time into the bright stage lights. "And that," he said in conclusion, "is what it is like to be a smuggler. As you can see, it isn't the best occupation in the galaxy." Han looked toward the edge of the stage to the school principal to show he was finished with this torture session.

The elderly woman walked onto the stage. She literally glowed with admiration for Han. It made him sick. "Thank-you very much, General Solo." Han cringed at the title. "Do you have time for a few questions?"

Han tried to say no, but he caught Leia's eye in the back of the crowd, and he folded under the pressure. He nodded weakly. Every hand in the auditorium of children popped up.

***

Lando slowly lowered the Lady Luck down on the small asteroid. A short while later the ramp lowered and Lando emerged followed by three rather tall youths. After the battle at Hastrin, Lando had promised to see if he could find Jon, Vince, and Bep crystals to improve their already spectacular W-wings. The three members of the 185th jumped at the opportunity.

Lando was greeted by Mansenchin and Dexter outside the main housing hut. "Hello, long time no see."

Lando returned the greeting with a hand shake. "Where's everyone else?"

Dexter looked at Mansenchin and tried to hide his grin when he spoke. "We told them they could go home." Lando's face was that of one in shock. "There really wasn't a point in them staying. We've searched this whole place and can't find one crystal."

Lando was almost crying. "You're kidding. Tell me you're kidding." The look on Lando's face was too much for Mansenchin and he opened the door to the building. Inside Lando could see about twelve large containers overflowing with the most beautiful crystals he had ever seen.

***

Anakin and Jacen stood about ten meters apart, again. This time Jaina and Lowbacca were the only people watching. Jacen had both of his lightsabers out and Anakin was cautiously handling his. All three of the sabers had the filters on them. Over the past few weeks, the four friends had worked out what had happened, and all the guilt that Lowbacca, Jaina, and Jacen had felt had been washed away by the Force.

Jacen charged his younger brother with both blades twirling. Anakin stood motionless. Jacen remembered the trick that Anakin had played on him back on Hastrin. Jacen stopped in front of what he though to be just a projection of his brother. That "projection" swung and connected with Jacen's torso.

Jacen looked stunned. "But I thought-"

"Don't think - know."

The two laughed and started to spar furiously. Jaina watched her brothers go at it with awe. She was glad that this time they were on the same side, and only fighting for fun. At the rate the two of them were striking and parrying, they could be busy all day. Jaina and Lowbacca got comfortable, determined to watch it to the end.

***

Snotzenexer sat at the table across from Sanson, his wife. Granted the marriage wasn't a joyous occasion. In fact there wasn't really anyone who attended the union. Just a priest that they had found on some desolate world. They were hiding out in the back waters of the galaxy. Their meager fleet was in a small asteroid belt where no one would ever find it. The bar in which they sat now was very dark and musty. They weren't scared about anyone recognizing them, no one had ever seen them before. To everyone in the bar they were simply Alex and Jill, the newly-weds.

"So have you found whom you were looking for?" Sanson asked, looking up from her food.

"I have indeed," Snotzenexer responded, looking into his wine glass as he held it up to the bar's poor lights. "I have indeed."

"Does he have a name?"

"Eranadis Palpatine."

Sanson smirked. "This should be interesting."

*******

The story is continued in the Snotzenexer Trilogy


End file.
